


The Sound of Silence

by sketzocase



Category: Dark Wolverine (Comics), Fantastic Four (Comicverse), X-Men (Comicverse)
Genre: Abduction, Aftermath of Torture, Aftermath of Violence, Altered Mental States, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Blood and Gore, Blood and Torture, Burning, Canon-Typical Violence, Comfort/Angst, Dark, Drowning, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, F/F, F/M, Freezing, Heavy Angst, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Medical Experimentation, Medical Torture, Mental Anguish, Mental Instability, Mental Link, Mind Manipulation, Multi, Mutant Politics, Mystery, No Smut, Not Canon Compliant, Physical Abuse, Polyamory, Psychological Drama, Psychological Horror, Psychological Thriller, Psychological Torture, Psychological Trauma, Rape Aftermath, Rape/Non-con Elements, Threesome - M/M/M, Torture, please read warnings before each chapter
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-11
Updated: 2018-11-16
Packaged: 2019-08-22 05:18:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 5
Words: 22,969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16591556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sketzocase/pseuds/sketzocase
Summary: A few months prior to this fateful night, a threesome goes on a date that ends with an abduction. Three months they spend in a hell that they can't begin to describe. When they're found, at last, they can't say what happened and seem to have formed a mental bond that is unexplainable even by the greatest scientific minds. All that's left are loose ends that SHIELD is trying to tie up and bloody secrets. It's up to them, their families, and their friends to hunt down the men responsible and extract the truth behind the tragedy.





	1. I need you to do what I tell you- Logan

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so I'm not going to leave a long note on this one. It's just a really dark fic about tragedy and healing. A little like 'the songs of the heart' series- I wanted to do one with all three of them where the whump was equally split. So.. just be ready for upsetting material and some tears. 
> 
> Trigger Warnings are 
> 
> -rape non/con heavily mentioned  
> -torture  
> -aftermath of torture  
> -aftermath of rape  
> -family drama  
> -medical drama  
> -psychological drama  
> -trauma  
> -talk of abduction  
> -questionable morals  
> -hit lists  
> -corrupt politicians  
> -violence  
> -aftermath of violence  
> -general upsetting material  
> -upset mothers  
> -bad mental states (for all three of the boys)  
> -mentioned torture  
> -mentioned rape  
> -non con distribution of snuff material ( snuff being sold as pornography with consent)  
> -SHIELD operations  
> -Surgery  
> -Over all drama  
> -metaphysical bonds of explained origins  
> -mystery  
> -mentioned death  
> -briefly mentioned gore
> 
> Annnnnd I think that's it.  
> Please be careful reading this one. It's origin comes from a legit nightmare I had that I had to write down that kinda spun into this.  
> I love y'all reading my stuff and I LOVE hearing from you  
> But PLEASE heed the warnings. I've tagged as much as I can think of. Additional tags will be given here. 
> 
> This one will have 18 chapters- like Everlong and Best of You- and we'll just have to see how it goes! 
> 
> Thanks for reading, and if you wouldn't mind, leave a comment or a kudos or what have you!  
> Next chap should be up either later today or tomorrow.  
> If anything was not tagged- let me know! 
> 
> Enjoy!

A SHIELD medical wing is the  _ last _ place you want to find yourself. If you are here- things have not gone well for you. 

The reason that brought us all here- the reason that woke us from our beds in the middle of the night in cold ass December after three months of being on the edge of our seats- cannot be avoided.

The three of us, me, Sue, Madeline Drake- are the representatives to our boys. All of us having some unique role in their individual lives. The father, the mother, the sister- all these boys have left.    
  
Boys? Men.    
  
No- looking in that room- seeing them like that- they’re boys. Childlike. Hurting. Raw.  _ Scared. _

I’ve never seen Daken so scared. Not in front of me.    
  
He has none of his masks. None of his measures of protection. 

He just looked at me- no hissing, no spitting, no cringing- like he knew I would help. Like I was the  _ only _ person who could trust with them. To keep them safe. He didn’t fight me. There was no malice in his stare. It’s like he was  _ pleading _ with me to do what I do best. To help him.

I hope I honored that trust. I did my best.

Bobby’s completely out of it. They talk to him and talk to him and talk to him- it’s like they’re not even in the room.

Johnny’s hard to tell because every time I’ve seen him he’s been sedated or being prepped for surgery. He’s had like five of them. We’ve only been here for a day and half- well they have. Fury didn’t call us until all the info was settled in place and we knew the boys would live.  

“Your debriefing packets,” Fury grumbles, passing one set out to each respective family unit.

I take mine first, followed by Sue, and then hesitantly joined by Mrs. Drake. 

  
Flipping through to the first page- I have to fight the urge to close it in repulsion. 

Sue makes a small noise- which is to be expected. 

But Madeline? She down right loses it.    
  
“Now-”    
  
“This is your fault.” The small woman says, looking down at the packet. 

“My fault?” I scoff. 

  
“All of you x-men! If you hadn’t poisoned his head…..” she stands up and throws the packet at me. 

“Mrs. Drake-” 

“He was a little boy and you monsters got in his head and.. And.. brainwashed him!! No wonder this happened!! What they did to my son, to the child  _ I _ brought into this world and raised- is evil. YOU are evil. This would have  _ never _ happened if he was allowed to have a normal life!!! He’d be married! With children!! I’d have grandchildren coming over every other weekend, he’d have a good job, he’d have a decent house, a nice car, people who cared about him-” 

  
“Bobby as a full  **_mansion_ ** of people who care about him.” I growl. “He has students who would kill for him- who  _ want _ to kill for him. He’s loved by more people than you can imagine and this is a tragedy to  _ all _ of us. You wouldn’t even have  _ found _ him if it wasn’t for us.”    
  
She wipes her nose “I am taking what’s left of my son home with me.” She says, tears in her eyes. “Before you monster’s lose anymore bits of him. If you try to contact him-  _ any _ of you- I will call the police. For the love of all that is holy- please- please leave him out of this mutant mess. He’s suffered enough for two lifetimes. As his mother- it is my job to see that it stops  _ now _ before anything else happens.” She storms out of the room. 

Fury sighs a long sigh. “It’s not wise to separate them when we don’t know the strength of their bond.” He says. “Whatever did or did not happen in that compound- it created a emotional, mental, and physical bond.”

“What are you saying?” Sue asks quietly. 

Nick inhales. “I’m saying that they  _ need _ each other. If Mrs. Drake removes Bobby from them- all three will suffer.” He rubs his eyes. “This the biggest shit show I’ve seen in awhile. A long while. I’ve got paperwork on top of paperwork. AND I’m having to work with fucking insurance agencies. ME. The head of SHIELD trying to talk to insurance companies to clear treatment for patients that actually  _ need _ it. As if my word isn’t enough for them.” He grumbles. 

“I can pay for Johnny’s expenses.” Sue says. “That’s not a problem.”

“Yea well you shouldn’t have to.” Nick grumbles. “Don’t worry- I’ll handle it.”

His face is pale and tired. Eyepatch looking blacker than usual in comparison and hair grayer  than I’ve ever seen it. 

“What’s the deal?” I ask. “What’s SHIELD doing to stop this?”

“We’re doing what we can.” He says. “So far all we can do is track down specialists to work on them… however.. They’re a little gun shy around doctors.” He sighs. “As in- we’ve had to sedate Daken so we could even  _ approach _ Bobby and Johnny. And this bond- whatever the hell it is- WOKE him up because they were in so much distress. It  _ overrode  _ actual sedatives. That’s when we realized just how deep it went. Whatever they did to them- whatever has been done that we don’t know about- it’s been etched into their very psyches.”

“Chances of them flipping out?” I ask cooly.

“High. Very high. We’d prefer if they wore power inhibitors. Mrs. Drake already said that Bobby  _ had _ to wear one. Never seen a woman more afraid of her child,” He says lowly. 

  
“And… Johnny?” Sue speaks up.    
  
“Johnny’s a special case,” Nick says, crossing his arms. “He’s burnt through everything we’ve put on him. Burns them out of his blood, too. I was hoping your husband had some … countermeasures.” 

Sue inhales deeply. “I don’t like blocking his powers. They make him feel safe.” 

“The nurses and doctors are having to wear firefighter gear just to take his  _ vitals, _ ” He says. “I think for right now, you’re going to have to deal with it. The only people his powers to  _ not _ effect are Bobby and Daken.”

Damn. 

“And like I said,  _ Daken _ won’t let us near them. He seems to be the ‘protector’ of the group.” Nick holds up a bandaged hand. “And he takes his job very seriously.”

That makes me smirk. 

“Good boy.”

Nick closes his eye(s) and tilts his head up. “This is a mess,” He says. “We need to make it unmessy.” 

“Tell us what we need to know,” Sue says. “We’ll do our best.”

“Best might not be good enough,” Nick says before pointing to our packets. “What we knows in there. It’s a little graphic.”

I flip through the book in front of me. “Experimentation?” I ask.

“And flat out torture. Killing them, bringing them back, killing them again, deeply rooted psychological terror, making them think they were in horror movies, making them think they were in hell, drowned, burnt, frozen, impaled, torn apart by dogs-” he stops. “Logan there was no end to it. We’re still cleaning up  _ pieces _ of the other victims. And Storm and Drake only survived because your boy went insane and killed everyone who was left in the compound. And then viciously attacked several of the rescue members. Took five men to hold him down so we could remove them. Five men to hold him down- and he was half dead. Imagine what would have happened if he was fully aware.”

“How’s his healing?” I ask. 

  
“Slow. really, really slow. Tricky thing is- he’s healing slower, but Johnny and Bobby are healing a little  _ faster _ . Like he’s  _ sharing _ his ability with them.”  

Can’t say that I’m not proud of him. 

“You should talk to him, Logan. Get him to ease up.”

“Yea… don’t see that happening.”

He nods. “Sue- you should try talking to Johnny too. He seems the easiest to reason with. He got it less for some reason… but he broke faster.”

“He… Oh Johnny.” She puts her hand to her mouth.    
  
“Shattered,” Nick says. “That’s what they put on his record. The other two are just protecting him. Could do with the fact that he’s the youngest.” 

Johnny’s always been the youngest everywhere he goes.    
  
I think he and Bobby are about two and half years apart. If that much.

“What will separating them do?” I ask.

“Madeline can’t remove Bobby,” Nick says after a moment of silence. “ It won’t be good for any of them….But, it is her right to. He is her son.”

Sue clears her throat. “Has anyone thought to ask what Bobby wants?”

“He won’t speak. The only one that looks like he could be even remotely vocal is Johnny. And he’s only making sounds. Bobby and Daken are basically mute. We’re wondering if Bobby hasn’t sustained hearing damage. He won’t respond to the tests and he doesn’t seem aware when people are talking to him. Johnny has somewhat communicated with our staff. Somewhat. Mainly when he was hurting really bad. Tricky thing is- they’re all banged up to hell- but the pain seems to come in surges. Like… they’re trading-off on who handles the brunt of it. From what we’ve noticed, there needs to be skin to skin contact. Separating them is an extremely bad idea. Removing one from the room to wash him down causes the other two great distress. Any containment measures we need to take need to be made for the three of them  _ together. _ ”

“When you say they’ve ‘bonded’... “ Sue asks, choosing her words carefully. “What exactly do you mean?” 

“They’re… sharing joint experiences, joint sensations, probably joint thoughts, emotions, they can somehow lessen each other’s pain. It’s the freakiest shit I’ve seen in a long while.”

I flip to the back page. “These the men who got away?” I ask.

He nods. 

  
I turn to Sue.    
  
“These the men the assaulted them?” I ask, flicking my eyes back to Fury. 

“Yes. There’s also another list of ‘acquaintances’ that we think were brought into the compound to ‘partake’ in the ‘fun’.”

Sue looks at the list too. She shakes her head. “None of these men will go to trial. Too powerful. Too well connected. They’ll never pay for it.” There’s pain in her voice that I want to soothe. Hearing Susan Richards upset is like seeing someone kick a puppy. She’s the most positive, sweetest, kindest woman I’ve ever met. She’s never met a person she couldn’t at least _ try _ to empathize with.

Sue puts her head in her hands, fingers running through her long blonde hair. “What do we do?” She asks. “What  _ can _ we do?”  

Fury clears his throat. “I am leaving this room,” he says. “For precisely ten minutes. During those ten minutes there will be no witnesses, no video, and no audio.” He taps my shoulder. “Logan, do what you gotta do. Make this all go away.” He nods to Sue. “Convince her.”    
  
We’re quiet as he leaves. 

  
I know what I’m doing.    
  
I’m gonna go take the heads of the men who hurt my son and my teammate. My son’s boyfriend. My friends.    
  
And I’ve got at least ten x-men behind me who are willing to cover it up.    
  
Having Sue on my side would be great… but it’s gonna take some hell of convincing to get her to abandon her usual approach to bad guys.    
  
These men aren’t people- they’re monsters. 

“They compiled what they did to them,” I say, not looking at her. “Which man preferred which one. Which scientists preferred which one. Which treatments they were subjected to that were solely for them- as chosen by the ‘doctor’ of the facility.”

  
“I know,” She says lowly. 

“Sue… I don’t need you to be the Invisible Woman right now. Not the mother, not the wife, not the public figure not the  _ hero _ …. I need you to be a sister.” I flip to a particularly gruesome picture. “That.” I tap the picture. “That is your little brother. The little boy you helped raise. These are the men who did it to him. All their names. All their faces. All their preferences… “I take a pen to my packet after a moment of reading- it doesn’t take much- and start circling names and procedures. “ _ These _ are the men who hurt him, the scientists who preferred to work with him exclusively, and these ‘procedures’ are what they favored just for him. They were made to hurt him in ways that no one else on this earth has ever concocted.” 

I pass the page over to her. “Names. Faces. Crimes. And that’s just against your brother. I got a page for my son. Louis’s got a page for his. Louis and Madeline are humans- and I get that. They gotta work within the law. We don’t.” 

“Logan…” 

“We don’t,” I repeat. 

I find another Johnny centric picture. “They  _ sold _ this one as pornography.  _ Sold it.  _ There are sick fucks around the world who are jerking it to some evil asshat raping your baby brother.” 

Tears trail down her cheeks but her voice is strong. “What do you need me to do?”

I move to take the packet back, but she stops me. “I need it.” 

I hold my hand up. “Sue- it’s not just me who needs this. Johnny literally has no say in any of this. He’s powerless. Don’t pull the ‘oh you were so strong’ card. That doesn’t help him. Don’t pull the ‘everything will be okay’ card- because it won’t. He needs you to be real. Be real and be raw. Because that’s ALL he can be right now.”

  
She looks through the packet. “What do I do?” She asks.    
  
“Whatever you think-”    
  
“Not what  _ I _ think. I don’t know how to handle this. Any way that I do- anyway that my  _ team _ does- these men will go free.” She looks up at me, blue eyes red and watery. “I need to know what  _ you’re _ doing,” She says. “Tell me what to do, Logan. Tell me how to  _ handle this.”  _ She pasues. “Tell me how to  _ help _ him. Tell me how to make sure that he  _ knows _ without a shadow of a doubt this men will not touch him anymore.” 

I take her unopened packet- since she’s got mine and won’t give it back- looking at what’s been done to my kid alone. It’s daunting.

Sewn shut, drowned, burnt, buried, deafened, blinded- His eyesight is still kinda shotty. All his senses are off. He can’t smell right either. 

“I’m gonna go do what I do best,” I say simply. “They hurt my kid, they hurt my friend, I’m gonna go make sure they can’t do that anymore.”

She nods. “The others… they won’t do that.”

“Reed will believe in the law,” I say in agreement. “Ben will side with him- even though he doesn’t quite have the same faith in it. And they love Johnny,” I say. “They’ll try to help him get better. He  _ can’t  _  get better without knowing that these assholes won’t come back for him.” I pause. “I need you with me, Sue. I need backup. I got Laura and choice x-men and they’re ready to go- don’t get me wrong. But the more people we have- the better chance that none of these fuckers escape.”

 

Sue is quiet for a long moment, flipping through pictures. She lands on one and freezes before looking up. “Tell me what I have to do,” She says lowly.


	2. The threat (Mom)-Bobby

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OKAY SO HERE'S THE DEAL
> 
> -I keep two versions of chapters- one that's finished, one that's not. Well for this fic- I got the folders mixed up.   
> So little things like spelling errors and the name of Bobby's dad got mixed up. (don't have a fucking clue how this happened). Formatting on a03 was being a royal bitch so I thought it easier to just take the wrong chapters down and insert the right ones. Nothing's really changed- just fixed a shit ton of errors. 
> 
> -triggers are  
> -talk of upsetting things like rape non/con  
> -upset mothers  
> -mental links  
> -drugs of the medical kind  
> -yelling  
> -general family disagreements. 
> 
> Please excuse the mess as I clean up this.. well.. mess. 
> 
> Thanks for reading, I beg your patience and I will have everything up and running within the next forty-five minutes. :)

Sound. Iv drip. Not plugged in. 

Dark outside. No light. 

God why is there never any light anymore? 

Gentle nudge in my brain- Johnny’s awake. He needs to be sleeping. We all need to be sleeping. 

I reach over and touch his forehead, seeing his blue eyes open. They’re cloudy with pain meds. 

‘Sleep.’ I think gently. 

He stares at me. 

Daken over hears us- I feel his mind turning. ‘Food?’ his brain is groggy. 

Of course he would be hungry. 

I send him some of my fondness for him at that though. 

I can feel him bask in it. 

‘Food?’ he asks again.

I shake my head. ‘Sleep. Late.’ 

We don’t really feel much like having full conversations now- that takes effort- even with our link. 

Sending words is hard enough. 

It’s been awhile since we actually spoke out loud. 

He curls up tighter on the floor. ‘Sleep.’ He agrees tiredly. 

Everyone seems to be settling down- except for Johnny, who’s turning thoughts over in his head. 

‘Sleep.’ Daken thinks more forcefully. 

‘Can’t. Footsteps.’ Johnny’s brain is getting more alert. He turns to the door, sending mental pictures of what he remembers of the hallway. 

He was awake when they brought us in here. 

‘Easy.’ I try to comfort, reaching out a shaking hand and touching his face. ‘Nurse.’ 

I hope it’s a nurse. I could use some more pain meds. 

Daken shakes his head. ‘Wrong scent.’ 

I inhale deeply- borrowing some of Daken’s senses. ‘I know this scent.’ I think in confusion. 

The door opens up and the footsteps get closer. 

An overhead light is turned on- making us all recoil and shield our eyes. 

“Bobby?” a familiar voice asks- worry etched in its tone. 

Mom????

“Oh baby what are you doing on the floor?” She asks in worry. “You don’t need to be on the floor!” 

‘Threat?’ Daken thinks sluggishly. 

‘Friend.’ Johnny responds. ‘Mother. Family. Friend. Bobby’s.’ 

Mom bends down and holds me by the shoulders. “Come on.” She says. “Let’s get you up off this cold floor.” 

I take in her worried expression. 

‘What’s going on?’ I think anxiously. 

“Come on baby, sit up.” She soothes

Mom’s hair is a little gray- she hasn’t dyed it and her face is worn. I haven’t seen her in forever. 

I don’t know … why she’s here. 

How she’s here. 

I carefully rise to a sitting position. Hot flashes of pain cry out from all over my body. Running down to my missing hand. 

‘Easy.’ Johnny soothes. A wave of relief washes over me. Warmth. Feels good. 

“We’re going home.” She says. 

‘Home?’ 

The other two perk up. 

‘All of us?’ 

Johnny puts a shaky hand on my shoulder. ‘Home?’ he asks for clarification. 

‘I don’t know.’ I try to soothe him. 

“Let go.” Mom says- not pleasantly at all. She pulls me to my feet. “Easy now.” She soothes- much different than how she was talking to him. “That’s better.” She brushes my shoulders off as I stand there in my borrowed boxer briefs. 

We have clothes- I think. Someone brought them to us. We don’t use them though because we feel more comfortable with skin to skin contact. 

‘Johnny??’ 

There’s panic shifting through our minds. 

Daken grabs my ankle. 

“Let go.” Mom snarls, yanking me away and kicking at his hand in the process. 

I feel the pain when she makes contact. 

His hand just healed from being broken two days ago. It was a really bad series of breaks. 

‘Daken?’ I reach out to him through our link. ‘You okay?’ 

The room starts to spin. 

“Let’s get you dressed.” Mom says gently. “Get you in a jacket? Your skin is so cold.” 

I hold completely still- fighting off a wave of nausea. 

There’s more footsteps. 

‘Threat?’ Daken asks again- more worried this time. 

“Mrs. Drake.” Our nurse opens the door- a woman with dark skin, honeyed eyes, and curly hair. “Bobby’s really not road ready yet.” She says sweetly. “Give him a little time-” 

“No, he’s had enough time here, I think.” Mom says crisply, adjusting the straps of her purse over her shoulder while trying to open it and hold me at the same time. “Give me his medications, please.” Mom says. “We’re leaving.” 

‘Leaving????’ I think loudly. 

My sentiment is shared between the other two. 

“Can I at least look over his wounds?” 

“No.” She says. “I will take care of them.” 

“Removing him from the other two without us knowing how deeply they’re connected-” 

“I don’t care how deeply they’re ‘connected’.” Mom growls. 

‘Bobby??’ Johnny calls. 

‘I’m confused.’ 

‘Threat??’ Daken presses. 

‘Friend. Family.’ Johnny shushes him. 

She starts to dress me. 

“Mrs. Drake-” 

“His medication?” She asks, pulling a jacket on my shoulders. 

It’s too hot. 

I start to sweat instantly. 

‘Bobby??’ 

“Easy now, dear.” Mom says. “It’s okay. We’ll go home… put you in your own bed- how’s that sound? Sounds good? Your own bed? Get you something to eat? You can sleep as long as you want.” She smiles. 

I can’t respond. 

I don’t know how to talk to normal people. 

Normal people who aren’t us. 

We can’t talk to normal people. Anyone who’s not us- is a threat.

Mom is a threat. 

“Why won’t he talk to me??” Mom snarls at the nurse. 

“Well, Mrs. Drake- he doesn’t talk to anyone.” The nurse says. “If you’ll just leave him here long enough to talk to Director Fury-” 

“No, that man’s done enough, I believe.” She says primly. “What medications is he on?” 

“Uh… a lot of morphine, antibiotics, some flu medication-” 

“He has the flu???” 

“They all have some kind of illness- we’re not sure what it is but it’s definitely flu like.” 

“Is he contagious?” her anger is so vivid is almost tangible. 

“Uh no-” 

“Then I’ll pick him up some at the store.” She looks around the room. “Where are his shoes?” 

“He uh- didn’t come with them.” Our nurse is taking hit after hit. “If you’d just wait a moment-” 

“You brought him in with no shoes??” 

“Mrs. Drake I don’t think you’re understanding what’s going on here.” The nurse says sternly. “Your son was the victim of-” 

“I know what he was a victim of.” Mom snaps. “I know very well- it’s all over the news and the internet. ALL of his family’s seen it-they’re asking where is he is. If he’s still mixed up with this mutant whatever you want to call it. I look like a terrible mother for leaving him here- all we want is him to come home. With us. Now, why doesn’t he have shoes?” 

“He was taken straight from the compound to here-” The nurse says in obvious confusion. “The clothes he’s wearing aren’t even his. They had to buy him some-” 

“No wonder he has the flu! You haven’t dressed him!” 

‘Threat?’ Daken asks again- tiredly. 

He can’t hear well right now. He’s only getting tones- not words. 

‘Help.’ Is all I can think. 

He tries to move- but my mom spins on her feet. “Oh no you don’t!” She points at him. “You stay right there. You’re not hurting him anymore!!!!” 

Daken’s face is one of hurt. 

He doesn’t hurt me. He hasn’t. He takes care of us. It’s his job. He does it really well. 

“Sit down.” She snarls.

He stays seated. 

“Bobby, I think it’s best,” She adjusts my jacket. “For all of you, if you don’t see them again.” 

Don’t see them again??? How can I not see them again??? 

They’re my sanity. 

“Mrs. Drake- please, this is a very bad idea.” The Nurse says. “If you’ll just calm down and talk to director Fury-” 

“I’ve spoken with the man on my intentions.” Mom dismisses her. “Come on dear. We’ll have you home in not time. And tomorrow, your grandfather wants to come and visit. How nice will that be? Hmm? You haven’t seen him in a while.” 

She’s… she’s taking me away. 

I can’t leave! I don’t want to leave! 

‘Threat.’ I think numbly. ‘Please don’t hurt her.’ 

Johnny uses the wall to sit up- lighting his hand. 

“Are you threatening me??” Mom’s voice is shrill. 

“No- no Mrs. Drake.” the nurse says. “He’s not actively doing it- Johnny please, calm down.” She turns back to my mom, “Please- if you love your son, you will leave him in our care. He needs them.” 

“He needs me.” She growls. 

‘Help.’ I think again. 

‘Can’t.’ Johnny thinks back. ‘Can’t hurt her.’ 

‘Come back.’ Daken’s mind is painfilled. ‘Please. Don’t leave.’ 

‘Help- help me stay.’ 

The room spins again as I’m being tugged by my good arm. 

I try to fight her off but she’s too willful. 

“Robert that’s enough.” She fusses. “Walk or I will have them put you in a wheelchair.” 

I drag my feet- trying to fight leaving the room. ‘Help!’ 

‘Come back!’ Daken’s voice in my head is getting weaker. We don’t do well separated. We learned that early on. 

‘Please-’

“There there.” Mom says. “Don’t pull so hard, dear. You’ll see, in a few days, that this is for the best.” She smiles. “You’ll even thank me.” 

My head starts to spin- my vision blacking out. 

“Bobby?” I lean to the side. 

“Bobby???” 

‘Help.’ I think weakly- falling to my knees. 

“Oh my god!” 

Footsteps- I’m swarmed by nurses. 

“Leave him be!” Mom yells. “He’s throwing a fit. I’ll handle it!” 

Oh god. 

“Bobby you get off the floor his instant!” She orders. 

‘Daken, Johnny- please. Help!’ 

‘Can’t.” Johnny says weakly. ‘Too much… too… too much.’ 

‘Trying.’ Daken’s thoughts are equally as weak. 

I feel nothing but pain circulating between the three of us. No one can make it stop. 

‘Are you okay???’ 

They don’t answer. 

‘Are you okay??????????’ I try again. 

More nurses go into the room- one running back out. “You cannot remove him!” He yells. “Look what you’re doing to them!” 

“I frankly don’t care what happens to them.” She growls. “I’m taking care of my child!” 

“What’s going on here??” A voice barks. 

“Stay away- you monster!” 

It’s Logan. 

“Lady you are insane.” He snarls, grabbing me by the shoulder. “You taking your kid is hurting my kid- do you understand???” 

“I understand that YOUR kid got MY kid hurt!” 

“Those monsters got Bobby hurt.” Logan growls. “Daken is trying to save him!!” 

“Let him go!” 

‘Help.’ I think weakly. ‘Please!’ 

I feel his mind get closer- he’s in the doorway, heavily leaning. Walking hurt him so badly. 

“Son-” Logan says, still holding onto me but turning to him. “It’s okay.” 

‘Threat.’ he’s froze facing his father. ‘Too many threats.’ 

‘Dad, family, friend.’ I think quickly. ‘Do not fight.’ 

He nods, reaching his hand out for me- I fight my mom off enough to grab it- feeling relief wash over me. 

“Let go of him!” Mom kicks Daken in the shins- making him fall the floor. 

“Lady- are you fucking insane!??” Logan belows. “Can you not see what you’re doing to them???” 

“I’ve had enough of this insanity!” She yells. “Let him go!” 

Logan doesn’t let go. “You’re hurting him!” He finally pulls me away from her. 

I fall to my knees by Daken. 

‘Are you okay? Fine? Blood? Pain?’ 

‘Hurt.’ He thinks weakly, 

I touch his face and he closes his eyes. 

‘Better.’ 

“You are insane!” Mom yells at Logan. 

“I don’t know if your problem is a mutant problem or a gay problem but your kid’s both- so deal with it!” Logan squares up with her. 

Daken puts his head in my lap, taking his hand and putting it in front of me- guarding. 

Mom’s voice cracks. “I just want to help him,” She says through tears. 

“You can’t help him by trying to change who he is.” Logan says softly. “He needs them. And they need him. We don’t know how this thing works anymore than you do. But separating them is in no one’s best interest. If you’re worried about hospital bills- Fury’s covering it. It’s not going to cost you a dime. If you’re worried about them hurting him- they won’t. No one will. He’s got more friends than you can shake a stick at,” Logan says. “Including a woman who is god like and throws lightning, a woman who can liquify someone’s brain, a man made of metal, a living ghost woman, a woman who kill people with skin contact, a man can make anything he can throw an explosive, a beast- do I need to go on??” 

Mom sniffs. 

I hold Daken as much as I can. 

She wipes her eyes. “Can we at least get them off of the floor?” She asks. 

Logan nods. “Yea.Yea, we can do that.” He moves back and leans down. “‘S okay kid,” He says to Daken. “No one’s going to take him.” He gently pats Daken’s back. “Can you move?” 

‘Help.’ he thinks weakly. 

‘I trust him.’ I reply. ‘I won’t let him hurt you.’ 

Logan helps Daken to his feet. “Get your boy,” He says to mom- who hesitantly helps me to mine. 

They bring us back to the room- taking his to where Johnny is crumpled on the floor. 

He’s not moving. 

‘Johnny?’ Daken probes. 

‘Hurts.’ his brain is a flash of red hot pain. 

Daken goes to him, laying against his back. 

Logan starts to take my jacket off. 

“What are you doing???” Mom snarls. 

“They need skin contact,” he shushes. “Besides, he’s too hot. Your son is Iceman. He needs the cold.” 

A nurse is squatting down beside Johnny takes his pulse. “That hurt him real bad,” He says to mom. “Really bad.” 

“I’m sorry,” She says. “I was just doing what I thought was right.” 

Logan helps me out of my jacket and shirt- leaving my shorts on. 

Daken and Johnny are stripped down to their boxers- their families aren’t making them any more decent than they want to be. 

“Here you go,” Logan soothes, helping me lay down beside Daken. I put my good hand on his face- reaching over to Johnny while he lays on Johnny’s chest. 

“This isn’t right.” Mom says. “They’re grown men.” 

“Your kid is gay,” Logan says again. “These are his lovers- the people he cares about more than anyone.” 

Mom bites her lip. 

“You just don’t like seeing it,” Logan says quietly. I pull closer to Daken. 

‘Pain.’ He thinks weakly. 

‘I feel it.’ 

‘Johnny’s in pain.’ 

‘I feel it.’ I repeat, putting my hand on his face. ‘I can’t heal this.’ 

‘I can’t-” 

The nurse leans over with a syringe. 

‘Threat.’ Daken’s mind flashes into awareness. 

“Easy,” The man says. “It’s morphine.” He injects Johnny who’s pain almost immediately lessens. “Two more.” He says over his shoulder. Another nurse hands him two syringes. “For you,” he says to me. I don’t respond as he injects me. It’s instant relief. When he does Daken’s- we fall into peace. 

Logan pulls the blanket off the single bed. “We need more blankets. More pillows. Might be easier to move out the bed and just put mattresses on the ground.” 

The nurse above us nods. “Y’all’re okay,” He says. “Breathe real deep.” 

Logan squats down by Daken. “You did good kid,” he says quietly. “You protected him real good.” 

My lover keeps his eyes closed, but a feel a little warmth filter through him at his father’s praise. 

We stay wrapped up together- as we like to be- and I feel sleep creeping up. 

“I don’t like this,” Mom says. 

“No one does, Madeline,” Logan says. “But… they’re more peaceful when they’re together.” 

Mom inhales deeply. “Who do I talk to about getting mattresses put in here?” 

“Head nurse,” Logan says. “I’ll go with you.” 

“It’s chow time if you’re going to be awake for a little longer. All three of you missed supper,” The nurse over us says- watching the parents for moment. “Are we having cold or hot?” 

We take a group censuses. 

‘Hot.’ Daken thinks. ‘Need warm.’ 

‘Hot is good.’ 

I nod. 

How do we tell him? 

“Hot.” Johnny whispers out loud. 

It’s the first time any of us have spoken out loud in a month. His voice is weak and hoarse. 

“Yea, okay.” The nurse says. “Good. Thank you for talking to me.” 

Johnny doesn’t respond, I can feel how panicked he is. 

‘Daken is protector, I’m the mouth.” he thinks. 

‘What am I?’ 

‘Strength.’ Daken thinks after a minute- I feel his mind turning. ‘You’re strength.’ 

It’s a half formed thought- but I like it. 

Mom and Logan exit the room- conversing quietly. 

For the first time in three months- I fall asleep peacefully.


	3. Hearing impaired- Daken

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Triggers are 
> 
> -talk of torture  
> -talk of rape  
> -after math of torture and rape  
> -mental links  
> -health problems  
> -phobias

The air in the room is freezing cold and my hearing is shot. There’s a loud ringing in my ears that gets progressively louder and louder- drowning out everything else. 

I open my eyes and look after my lovers. 

Asleep. 

Good. They need the rest. 

I hold onto Johnny, trying to raise up to get a better view but finding it difficult. I collapse back to our mattress- regretting my decision. The material is thin- but it’s better than our cell. 

God anything is better than our cell. A pile of blankets on a dirt floor and a bucket in the corner. They were abducting mainly LGBT couples. We were the one of three actual threesomes that were actually together before they assigned rooms. Trying to build quick bonds through trauma and experimentation. 

And it worked- sort of. 

We’re a shining example of it working. They didn’t have to force us together as strangers- though. We’d already been together for a year. The others mostly came in twos and were just expected to welcome this complete stranger into their relationship. 

Our cell was barely big enough for the three of us- I could sit with my back to one wall, stretch my legs out and almost touch the other wall with my feet. Dirt floors were constantly made muddy by blood and other bodily fluids- more often than not vomit. They did a lot to Bobby’s stomach. 

There was an heavy iron-barred door trapping us in. Power absorbent. Shock absorbent. Impossible to cut through- it was immovable and we couldn't escape. In a sense- they secluded us from the other patients- kept us all separate unless they happened to be running tests on two couples at the same time. 

The separation didn’t keep us from hearing the other inmates dying, however.. 

I think that was part of the compound’s ‘charm’. We made friends with a few of our fellow captives. Hearing them die… was hard on me. It was hard on all of us- but the ones that died first were always the one in the ‘protector’ roles. We’re an annoying bunch- apparently. With our drive to keep our partners safe from the hands of those who would harm them. 

At night, in the dark, I’d lie there listening to the sounds of twenty other people. Cramped. Calling out. Screaming in their sleep. 

And one by one- they died. 

There were three groups of three(ourselves included), one group of five, and one group of six. The group of five and six were sloppily thrown together. They couldn’t make the connections fast enough so the doctors started killing them off- trying to make the others react. 

How can you possibly react to a stranger though? It’s terrifying- yes. But you don’t know them. 

When they didn’t get the right reactions- when only two people were left and they failed to bond for some reason or another- they went ahead and had them killed as well, not wanting to go abduct more people than they had to. 

Our bond formed quickly. I basically used my own powers to will it into existence. It’s hard to explain- but it took a lot of effort. Pushing and pushing and pushing- emotion after emotion, image after image- and then one day, I think it was Johnny- gave me one back. It wasn’t pleasant by any stretch of the imagination- but it was there. A few hours later- Bobby managed to send an emotion strong enough for it to register to both of us at the same time. 

The key to the bond is my healing factor. Which they figured out early on but kept trying to replicate it in other people- some just normal humans- anyway. 

People who try to form it without one person having one- their minds deteriorate. 

Without me, Johnny and Bobby would be dead. 

So I protect them. 

Lately- I haven't been able to. 

My last round on the surgical table hurt me in ways I can’t even begin to describe. It hurts to move. It hurts to breathe. I am in constant agony. 

I only keep going to keep them alive. 

If we’d been separated I would just lay still and let death take me. 

‘Sleep.’ Bobby thinks tiredly. ‘No more sad thoughts.’ 

‘You’re awake too.’ I think pointedly. 

‘Because you’re awake.’ He argues. ‘Shush now. We’re safe. You’re safe. You can go to sleep.” 

 

I falter. ‘Sorry.’ I try to send some of my tiredness to him. 

‘Why do you feel funny?’ He asks. 

‘Funny?’ 

‘Your signals are off.’ He says quietly. ‘Are you okay?’ 

I sigh. ‘Everything hurts. I don’t know what to pinpoint.’ 

‘You need more pain meds.’ He infers. 

‘If I take them there’s less for the two of you.’ I shake my head. ‘I’ll be fine. Go back to sleep.’ 

It’s early in the morning. Maybe four? I can feel it. 

Time for the guards to make their rounds. Time for me to be awake to keep them at bay. 

Johnny and Bobby need more rest than I do. I stay awake at night to look over them. 

To be honest- I stay awake during the day to do the same thing. 

Too many greedy hands and lustful eyes- using us. Taking us for everything until we have nothing left. Too many.. Too many hands. Too many needles. Too many scalpels. Too many- fuck. Too many people. And endless parade of people to ‘entertain’. 

That started when they realized they had Johnny. Getting such a prolific superhero made them money. Men by the dozen wanting to show him their ‘attention’. Fulfilling every violent fantasy they possibly could with him. Breaking him in ways he’d never been broken before. Bragging about their conquests. He’d never been touched like that. Never. 

Our usually bright ball of sunshine couldn’t even speak for a time. We had to keep pushing him. The roles were assigned- we didn’t get much say in them. ‘Protector’ ‘Mouth’ and… extra. I forget exactly what Bobby’s supposed to officially be. 

Johnny wasn’t making much progress as our ‘mouth’ if he wouldn't speak. To keep him alive- we had to make him. 

The abuse never stopped. Day in and day out. Sundown to sunup. All day long. So many people were… enamored by the idea of dominating someone so.. Vivid. They took pictures and videos- quite visibly- they didn’t hide it. 

That was Johnny’s personal hell.

He’s always tried to be positive- but he couldn’t even look at himself anymore. He asked- no he begged- me to kill him. 

I had to put all my effort into keeping him alive. 

The rest followed once they realized they also had an x-man. That took them a while to place- they had to dig. When they figured out his team affiliation and who we was? Everyone wanted to take a crack at him. He’s an omega level mutant. A leader of the cause. What better way to punish someone for being different than to break their spirit? 

When I pulled my claws on them- they were surprised for a third time. And smug. Oh so smug. Standing at the bars of our cell telling us lucky they were to have found us. What wonderful patients we made. What money we could bring to the program. 

We got more visits than any other ‘couple’ in the program. Usually in the hall outside of our cell. 

Bobby didn’t speak to us for five days. Not mentally and not verbally. He didn’t eat. He didn’t sleep. He laid on his side and faced the wall.

I had to snap him out of it. 

I poured all of my hatred and all of my anger into protecting them. Going to unnecessarily self-harmful lengths to make sure they were safe. 

My doctor found it.. Charming. She was so pleased that her hypothesis of introducing the individual roles into the bond worked. 

She had finally found a way to control me. 

I hated that. 

I held out for as long as I could- but eventually even I broke. The retorts didn’t come. The snapbacks died in my throat. Any sense of rebellion or argument faded. As if someone was slowly erasing my personality. 

I’m still convinced that that’s how the others died. They stopped viewing themselves as people. They lost themselves to the trauma. If we hadn’t been rescued when we were- the same thing would have happened to us- without a doubt. 

One night they had Johnny removed- that was the night that ten of the other subjects died. A man paid close to a million dollars to our keepers if they would let him shoot innocent people. 

I thought Johnny dead. 

We stayed up all night waiting for him. 

They didn’t throw him back in until the next day- around noon. His body was covered in bruises- dark bruises. Fingers broken. Mild concussion. 

I was just happy he was alive. 

I swore to take better care of them after that. 

That means assessing for threats at all times. 

Reading every situation. 

Keeping everything where it needs to be kept. 

We’ve been tortured and killed and beaten and raped and pushed to the very limits of sanity- but we’re alive. 

I’m good at my job.

I just wish I was better at it. 

When the SHIELD agents were sweeping the compound- I tried to hide us. I didn’t trust them. 

They found us anyway. We were swarmed. They took one look and called for the medics. 

Tried talking to us. Their voices were like thunder. 

They didn’t know about the bond- so they kept trying to pull us apart- it was maddening. I lashed out with everything I left in me but I was overpowered. They held me down to remove them from my care before cuffing me. Fury figured it out first- the other two were dying because we were too far apart. He ordered them to put us in the same room. We got better. I refused to let go of them. I refused to let the doctors touch them. All it landed me in was deeper trouble. Sedatives. People thinking I was this crazed animal. 

I don’t care what they think. 

I have a job. To protect the people I love. I have to be vigilant. I have to be on top of every single thing that’s thrown at us. I have to. I can’t… I can’t slip. Not again. 

I can think all of these thoughts- they’re mine to think. I think them so the others don’t have to. I protect us. Even if that means taking on more than I think I can handle. 

I have to keep us going. Even now. 

It just hurts. God it hurts so bad. 

I hear footsteps and panic. 

“Which one?” One of the nurses asks in a low whisper. 

“Daken.” I recognize my father’s voice through fuzzy hearing. It’s like being underwater.

Why are they singling me out?? What did I do… I can’t… I can’t think.

‘Bobby…’ I think wearily. 

I feel him come to attention. 

‘I can’t see well.’ I try to explain. ‘What’s going on?’ 

‘It’s your dad.’ He says, effortlessly doing what I needed him to.. ‘And a nurse.’ 

A woman with frizzy brown hair bends down over me. “Hey.” She says when she sees me looking. “Dad says your stitches came open.” She says. “Can I take a look?” 

I’m constantly popping stitches. I have been for the last two months. So much so that it’s become the norm and I don’t even realize it. She gently turns me on my back- making me let go of Johnny. The sudden absence of his warmth startles me.

‘Johnny…?’ 

“You don’t have to panic.” She says. “Take it nice and easy.” 

“Watch the claws.” Logan instructs. 

“We’ll be okay, dad.” She dismisses. “Let me look at the damage here.” 

I’m missing a good portion of skin on my left side- right below my ribs. The stitches the doctor at the compound gave me were just to help keep blood off the floor. They were infected and hurt more than they should have. It was the thread they used. 

That was one of the first things they undid when I came here. 

I don’t remember much of that encounter. Just that I was held down and couldn’t move. 

“Oh, yea.” She tuts. “Bleeding all over them. Look at this.” 

‘Threat?’ I ask for clarification. 

‘Help.’ Bobby corrects. ‘I’ll watch.’ 

I nod, closing my eyes. 

“We’ll need to redo these.” I flinch when she touches my stomach. “Easy.” She soothes. “Let’s get you clean, okay? No wonder you can’t sleep. You should have said something!”

“He doesn’t talk.” Logan reminds her. 

She sighs. “That’s right.” She lightly taps Johnny. “You should have got him to say something.” 

‘Stop berating me.’ I think sourly. 

‘You should tell someone when you’re in pain.’ Bobby scolds. ‘It gives me a headache.’ 

‘I’m sorry.’ 

‘Don't be.’ He says. ‘Just tell Johnny to alert someone when you feel like this.’ 

I nod. 

The nurse gets to her feet and walks around the room, procuring the supplies. 

“Here we go!” she sits back down and starts to gently wash my stomach. 

I don’t like it. Usually, Bobby cleans my wounds. 

‘She’s probably better than I am.’ he thinks jokingly. 

‘Why am I wet?’ Johnny thinks groggily- joining us. 

‘Daken’s bleeding.’ Bobby says. ‘They’ll clean us up.’ 

He raises to his elbows anyway. ‘Why is he bleeding?’ 

‘He popped stitches. Must have been twitching again.’ 

I have something akin to seizures. I don’t like the term ‘seizures’ so we call them ‘twitches’. 

“There’s some medication we can use to stop seizures.” She says. “I think you’d do well to take it. Dad said you were seizing in your sleep.”

I can never get used to living in two different worlds. Sure there's the one you’re born into. But this bond-this link- it’s like we've been given a world of our own. An inner world . It’s something that’s been forged through blood and tears. It took a lot to get it where it is. Death after death. Revival. Being completely open and raw for each other…

When someone mirrors something on the outside that’s been said on the inside- it makes me nervous. I like our little world. I don’t want to give it up to strangers who won’t understand it. 

‘Not going anywhere, honey.’ Johnny reassures me with a tired push of affection. 

“Oh dad was right.” She says a few more ‘twitches’ wrack my body. 

I look over her shoulder- I can’t see well but I know he’s standing there. 

She leans into her bucket and puts something in my mouth. “So you don’t bite your tongue.” She says, fastening it behind my head. 

A bit. 

A feel like a horse with it in my mouth. 

‘Help.’ I wince as she gets to my open wound. 

They took chunks of me out. I think they did it for fun. 

‘Shh.’ Bobby shushes. ‘She’ll take it out.’ 

The nurse takes out a syringe. “This should numb you right up.” She injects me a centimeter above the wound and waits for a second before starting to stitch me up. 

I don’t like women right now. 

My ‘doctor’ was a woman. They make me uneasy. 

For the same reason, I don’t like men. I like my men. But they don’t count. 

Too many nights spent under this horribly fat bastard. Little dick -but he knew how to use it. I hated that. He liked me. I wanted him dead. But retaliation meant Johnny and Bobby would have had to pay. 

I guess I don’t really like anyone other than us. 

Well.. that’s not true. Laura. Sue. Gabby. Those are females I like. They’re nice. They wouldn’t experiment on me or try to make me purposefully insane. 

The twitch lasts for a long moment. So long that I stop breathing. 

Bobby rushes to correct the issue- but he's’ the worst when it comes to healing things. 

When it stops- I take a gasping breath. 

“Oh yea.” the woman soothes, making me notice that she’s almost done with the stitches. “See? Easy as pie.” 

I stay perfectly still. 

“I hate to break it to you three- but you need a bath. All of you. And we need to change these sheets.” 

‘No.’ I think loudly. ‘No no no. no water. Please- I can’t take it..’ 

‘I won’t let her drown you.’ Johnny thinks. 

‘Please- tell her.’ I think weakly. ‘Plese. I can’t do it. Please.’ 

“No water.” He says immediately. 

“Excuse me?” 

He spoke in a whisper. 

“No- no water,” he repeats. “He doesn’t like it.” 

“Who doesn’t like it?” 

Johnny eyes me wearily. 

“Daken doesn’t like water?” She sits back on her heels. “He told you that- just now?” 

Johnny nods ever so slightly. 

“Is he scared?”She asks. 

He nods again. 

She turns to me. “You don’t have to be scared.” She says sweetly, holding her hand up. “I promise. I will not hurt you.” 

‘Threat.’ I think quickly. 

‘Friend… I think.’ Bobby says. ‘I trust her. She brought us medicine while you were sleeping.’ 

She leans over and takes the bit out of my mouth- for a second bringing the overwhelming scent of her perfume. Her perfume. Not the doctor’s perfume. 

That cloying scent will make me vomit every time I run into it. She did experiments with that- seeing if other scents would do it. She was pleased to discover that it was just hers. 

“Would you feel better if dad did it?” She asks. 

‘Would you?’ Johnny asks quietly. 

‘Somewhat.’ 

“Yes,” he says out loud, still in a whisper. 

She leans forward to hear better. “Yes?” 

Johnny nods. 

“Johnny… do you speak for both of them?” She asks. 

“Yes.” 

“And you’re the only one who speaks?” 

“Yes.” 

“But they tell you what to say?” 

“Yes.” 

“In your head?” 

“Yes.” 

She nods before turning to Logan. “He needs a bath.” She says. “But we can’t separate them. There’s a tub room down the hall. They’ll have to go together.” 

Logan makes a noise of affirmation. “How do we move them?” 

“I think Louis and Susan are in the lobby.” She says, “We can enlist their help. Everybody take their boy.” 

‘Ugh. dad.’ Bobby groans. 

Johnny is somewhat excited. ‘I want to see Sue. it feels like forever.’ 

‘It has been forever.’ I tell him. ‘I like Sue.’ 

‘I like Sue, too.’ Bobby says. 

‘Is Sue safe though?’ I ask. 

‘Sue would never hurt us.’ Johnny thinks passionately. 

I’m quiet. ‘I want Laura.’ 

‘I want Kitty.’ Bobby thinks sadly. ‘Anyone but dad.’ 

“Go get them,” Logan says- outside of our conversation. So so fuzzy. 

The nurse nods and disappears. 

The ringing in my ears is so loud that all other sound fades out with a loud ‘pop’. I hang my head. I’m worthless. I can’t keep them safe. I can’t keep me safe. 

We should have just died. 

‘Your hearing is fucking up again.’ Johnny says sweetly. “And you’re not worthless.’ 

I feel myself tearing apart at the seems. 

‘Oh baby,’ Bobby wraps his good hand around mine, pulling me closer to him. ‘Look at me.’ 

I meet his eyes. 

‘You’re not worthless.’ He says sternly. ‘You protected us. We’re alive because of you.’ 

‘You’re also in the mess because of me.’ I say weakly. 

‘Daken this isn’t your fault.’ Johnny says. 

I wipe my eyes. ‘You didn’t want to go down that alley.’ I say. ‘I made you.’

‘And you knew they were waiting on the other side?’ Johnny asks patiently. 

‘No.’ 

‘Then how is that your fault?’ He asks. 

I close my eyes just as my other ear pops. I can no longer hear. 

‘I can’t keep us safe.’ I say dejectedly. 

‘Then we’ll keep us safe.’ Bobby says. ‘How bad is your hearing?’ 

‘It’s so bad.’ I agree. ‘Be my ears… please. I can’t look weak in front of Logan.’ 

‘I’m on it.’ Johnny says. 

Johnny has the best hearing. Bobby’s eardrums were punctured a month and a half ago in our cell. He couldn’t hear for a day and a half. He was inconsolable. I remember just holding him. He was so scared. He shook and shook and shook. That’s when we learned we could talk to each other like this. Before that, we were only using images and feelings. 

Not everyone knows that we can communicate like this. I think they think that it’s just Johnny. Not that Bobby and I can do it too. 

That makes an extra level of protection. It’s possible for us to be the mouth if he can’t and it needs to be done. 

There’s a moment of silence before Logan sits down on the mattress, leaning over and doing something near my ears. 

‘What is going on?’ I ask anxiously.

‘He’s snapping by your ears.’ Johnny says. ‘Looking for a response.’ 

I keep still. 

His lips are moving and all I hear is buzzing. I close my eyes. 

‘He wants to know if you can hear him.’ Johnny says. 

‘I can’t.’ I admit weakly. 

‘Johnny’s trying to tell him.’ Bobby says. 

‘He’s asking if you know…’ Johnny goes quiet. 

‘If I know what?’ 

‘Never mind.’ he says quickly. 

‘Johnny-’ 

“‘I told him you didn’t want to talk about it.’ 

‘Talk about what?’ 

‘Dr. Olmer.’ Bobby says. ‘He’s asking about her.’ 

My blood freezes. 

‘Careful- he’s watching your face.’ Johnny warns. ‘He knows.’ 

I turn away from him but he turns me back. 

‘He wants me to tell you that they caught her.’ Johnny says. ‘Trying to leave the country. She got shot twice- he thinks that will make you feel better.’

‘She could be shot a thousand times and it wouldn’t change anything.’ I think sourly. 

I feel close to tears. 

‘He’s asking what she did to you.’ Johnny says. 

‘Tell him I don’t want to tell him.’ I think quickly. 

There’s tense silence. ‘Johnny?’ 

‘I’m listening.’ He shushes. 

‘Bobby-’ 

‘He knows about the list.’ Johnny thinks loudly. 

‘The whole list or just my list?’ 

‘Your list.’ Bobby responds for Johnny. He reaches with his good hand and takes mine. ‘He says the men on it are as good as dead. She told him everything for a plea bargain.’ 

‘Fuck.’ 

Logan touches my face. 

‘What’s he doing now?’ I ask in a panic. 

‘You’re crying.’ Johnny says. ‘He’s sorry for making you upset.’ 

My list… my regular ‘visitors’. The fat man- the guard- he got away. The politician. The Comedian. The actor. The doctors who would take things out of me. The choker. The biter. And…. the… the...

‘He’s not on the list she gave.’ Johnny soothes. ‘He doesn’t know. No one knows. We’ll take it to our graves.’ 

I sigh- relieved. 

‘This will cheer you up.’ Johnny sends an image of a random dog. 

It makes me laugh. ‘Where did you see that?’ 

‘Therapy dog.’ he says. ‘In the hallway today while you were sleeping. You said you wanted a puppy- remember?’ 

‘Why would there be a therapy dog at this time of night?’

‘It was earlier today. Look at his droopy ears.’ He gives me the image again- closer up this time. I can feel it’s soft fur under my finger tips. . A hound dog. Old and wrinkly. 

‘You touched it?’ I ask. 

He grins. ‘Yea. I walked to the doorway and he came right up to me. His name was Sherlock. He was five and a very good boy.’ 

‘Cute.’ I send him as much affection is I can in my current state. 

‘You like it? Sue can get us one!’ Johnny says excitedly. ‘Sue can get us twenty!’ 

‘I want a puppy though.’ Bobby says. 

‘I want a puppy too. A big puppy. Guard dog. Lot’s of teeth. Big bark.’ 

‘I’ll see what I can do.’ 

Bobby’s mind runs through something- pushing it through the connection. ‘This is stuck in my head.’ He says a second before repeating some news clip. ‘It was about us.’ 

‘Where did you hear that?’ Johnny asks. 

‘Nurse was listening to the news on her phone in the hallway. Everyone knows.’ 

‘We’ll never have privacy again.’ I think in despair. 

Logan turns my head to the side, moving around my ears again. 

‘Snapping again.’ Johnny says. ‘He thinks they can bring your hearing back.’ 

I sigh, feeling someone’s hand brush my arm. I know it’s one of them and not outside forces. I’d know their touch anywhere. 

‘Nurse is back.’ Bobby says. ‘Sue, dad, Logan, nurse.’ 

‘Instructions.’ Johnny says. ‘Move slow. Don’t jerk. Don’t run. Wait for directions.’ 

Logan offers his hand to me- I take it and let him pull me to my feet before the pain takes over and I try to sit back down. He catches me, holding me up. ‘It hurts.’ I hiss. 

‘Want me to tell him?’ Johnny asks. 

‘No. I can handle it.’ I try to straighten up again. ‘I can’t handle it.’ I say after a long minute that almost makes me scream. Screaming is most definitely not allowed. No one wants to hear complaints. Everyone is hurting. Screaming is pointless and keeps the others up. Stay quiet or they’ll sew your mouth shut. It’s hard to breathe with your mouth sewn shut. 

‘He’s not going to sew your mouth shut.’ Bobby soothes. 

Logan lets me fall back to the mattress. 

‘Discussing how to move us.’ Johnny says. 

‘Can’t move.’ I wince. 

‘Decided to wash us off in bed and change the sheets.’ Bobby thinks. ‘This will be embarrassing.’ 

‘What’s more embarrassing- have your dad do it- or mine?’ I tease. 

‘At least it’s not your sister.’ Johnny grouses. ‘I’d rather clean myself.’ 

‘That’s easy to do with two hands.’ Bobby says quietly. 

‘We can get your hand back, love.’ I say. ‘You’ve just got to-’ 

‘I can’t.’ he says weakly, cutting me off. 

I let it set. 

We’re all quiet for a moment before I jump- feeling a tugging at my shorts. 

‘Cleaning.’ Johnny says carefully. ‘You bleed all over your boxers. He promises to be gentle.’ 

‘First time a man’s said that in a while.’ I think darkly. 

‘I know baby.’ Johnny says. ‘I know. I’m watching. If he gets inappropriate I’ll blast his ass- okay? But he won’t. He’s your dad.’ 

I sit in silence, bearing the indignity of having someone else wash me.

He’s very thorough. 

A get the faint whiff of soap. Strong soap. The ever so faint smell of blood fades. 

‘I wonder if this is what if felt like when I was a baby…’ Bobby muses. 

‘What?’ i ask. 

‘I wonder if I was this embarrassed when I was baby or if I didn’t know any better.’ 

I look over at him- watching. He’s got a mesh of scars tracing his stomach and his hips. Some man liked to use barbed wire as a prop. He only liked Bobby.

‘I don’t know but I could get used to this.’ Johnny shares some of his amusement. 

‘Better than the compound.’ Bobby murmurs. ‘Johnny- tell him that’s too rough.’ he says with a wince. ‘It hurts.’ 

I let myself be washed before carefully being removed from the mattress. 

The loss of contact with the others scares me. But I can see them also being removed from the mattress. The sheets are stripped before new ones are applied, followed by a new mass of blankets and pillows. 

He helps me lay back down. We go back as we were -getting as much skin contact as possible. I’m naked now- but that doesn’t bother me much. He makes sure I’m under the blankets.

‘What are they saying?’ I ask. 

‘Nothing.’ Johnny says. ‘Everyone’s quiet.’ 

‘Ugh this soap is nasty.’ Bobby complains. 

‘I feel exposed.’ Johnny joins in. 

I feel tired. 

‘What are they doing now?’ I ask with my eyes closed. 

‘Rounding up more clothes.’ Bobby translates the scene around me. ‘They’re talking about moving us somewhere else.” 

‘Somewhere else?’ 

‘Yea. ‘ Johnny agrees. ‘Running thought is the Baxter Building. No wait- your dad shot that down. Wants you closer to him. Now they’re thinking the school- no wait- Bobby’s dad shot that down, he wants Bobby closer to home. They don’t know where to put us.’ 

‘I have a house.’ I think loudly. 

‘No supervision.’ Bobby says. ‘They want someone to supervise.’ 

‘No wait- wait-’ Johnny says, ‘They brought up your house- you have five rooms.’ 

‘Yes.’ 

‘One for our ‘guardian’.’ 

‘We have a guardian?’ I ask in confusion. 

‘Holy fuck we have ten.’ Johnny says in awe. 

‘Ten??’ 

‘My parents, Sue, Reed, Laura, Logan, Ororo, the professor, Ben, and Jean.’ Bobby says. 

‘What- why? Since when? Why are they all involved?’ 

‘Round the clock care.’ Johnny’s voice is quiet, he’s still listening. ‘They want to see how we do tomorrow. Well… today. And Bobby’s dad wants him to wear the collar… and for your pheromones to be blocked.’ 

‘What?? Why??’ 

‘He doesn’t feel safe.’ Johnny says. 

‘Dad…..’ Bobby groans. 

‘Are we getting clothes or not?’ I grouse. 

‘Our clothes are dirty. They’re trying to get some scrubs. We’re going to stay naked for a while.’ 

‘Nakeds fine with me.’ Bobby says. ‘I can just ice up.’ 

‘Your dad would not like that.’ Johnny says carefully. ‘Just get under the blanket for the time being.’  
‘Ugh dad.’ He groans again. 

It’s.. cute. 

We’re all quiet for a minute. I can feel Johnny’s mind get heavy. 

‘What’s wrong?’ 

‘There’s… something they’re not saying.” Johnny says. ‘I can feel it.’ 

I don’t know how to ease his fears. Knowing my father, there’s probably a great deal they’re not saying. 

I put my hand on Bobby’s chest as he presses into Johnny- he knows what I’m doing. I try to get a general reading from all of us- using their senses to further my own. 

Through slightly better hearing than I mine I hear, “His sister can stay with them.” 

“I doubt a woman-” 

“Let me stop you right here, Louis.” Sue growls. “His sister is a perfect candidate I trust her with Johnny’s life.” 

“That’s all well and fine.” Louis huffs. “But Robert needs-”

“We are well aware of what he needs.” Sue says. “And Reed will make sure they have all the adequate equipment.” 

“And I’ll make sure the bills are paid and they have food.” Logan says. 

“And we’re all allowed over anytime we want.” Sue says. 

Louis huffs. “I’d like him closer to home.” 

“Daken’s house is a good midway point.” Logan argues. 

I feel the others getting antsy- so I back off, going back to my non-hearing state. 

‘At least at your house we have an actual bed.’ Johnny says ‘helpfully’.   
I grant him a small bit of approval through our bond. 

‘Oh- I know.’ Bobby says. ‘We ask them to let us go on our own. Then we can decide-’ 

‘Let me give it a shot.’ Johnny says. 

He goes quiet for a long moment. 

‘What’s happening?’ I ask. 

‘They’re talking over him.’ Bobby responds. ‘Not even trying to listen.’ 

I open my eyes- watching the three ‘adults’ - I guess more ‘adultier’ adults than ourselves- try to speak over each other and Johnny. 

I raise to my knees- I’m going to stop this. 

‘What are you doing?’ Bobby asks in panic. 

‘Protecting.’ I think back simply. I’m almost to my feet, when I have to stop- leaning over and supporting myself with my hand. My whole arm shakes. 

‘They aren’t happy with you.’ Johnny says quickly. ‘You’re exerting too much effort. Be still.’ 

‘I’m trying… to..’ I feel light headed. 

‘Stop!’ Bobby cries. ‘That hurts!’ 

I shake my head, eyes closed from the pain I’m in. When I open them, Logan is crouched down in front of me, gently nudging me back to the mattress. 

‘He says to rest.’ Bobby says. 

His face is nothing but concerned. 

I try to push him off- but he has a good hold on me- holding me down to the mattress. 

I try to keep my mind in the present and not let it roam back to recent experiences with men holding me to mattresses. I don’t like being pinned. Not by someone who is possibly stronger than me. 

He holds me for a second before pulling the blanket over my body and a making sure I have enough pillows. 

I’m… grateful for him. 

I have been since he showed up the first time. 

I couldn’t keep them safe. I couldn’t keep them well. I couldn’t… I couldn’t protect. There were so many people. So many… and then I saw him. And I begged for him to understand even though I couldn’t verbalize. I begged for him to know how much they meant to me. How they are my everything. How my life ceases to have meaning without them. 

Everything I’ve done over the last three months was to keep them safe. All the extra pain I endured just so they wouldn’t have to. The beatings, the torture, the rapes- all of it. Not a word spoken. Not a hand raised. 

I only snapped when I overheard that they were going to separate us. They made this bond and they wanted to test it further- by repeating the same tortures and ‘experiments’ without us being together. If the bond is severed- they’re not sharing my healing factor and they will die. Furthermore it’s the only thing keeping us sane. I couldn’t let them take that away from me. 

‘Breathe.’ Bobby coaches as Logan lets me go. 

I nod. ‘Right. Right.’ 

‘He’s not Collins.’ Johnny soothes. 

The guard. My sworn enemy. “You don’t want them to get it- do you?” He would ask. Of course ‘no’ was my answer. Always. “Then you’ll be a good boy- won’t you?” he would ask, waiting for me to comply. “It’s not rape- you see? You wanted it.”   
I could blind myself permanently and still see his face. 

Bobby and Johnny both send equal yet different versions of ‘soothing’. The mix is something that never fails to calm me. 

‘I didn’t deserve it…’ I ask. ‘Did I?’ 

‘No.’ Johnny soothes. ‘No, no, no. Baby you didn’t deserve that. He was just fucking with your head.’ 

‘You didn’t ask for it either.’ Bobby knows my next question. We have this talk a lot. 

Logan pats my shoulder- backing off. 

‘They’ve decided.’ Johnny says. ‘Reed’s bringing the equipment to the house, your sisters are going to arrive tomorrow morning, and they’re hiring a medical aide to take care of us.’ 

I close my eyes. 

Bobby brings my hand to his lips, kissing it. ‘Love you.’ He says. 

‘I love you too.’ 

‘I love you both.’ Johnny says. ‘But you’re hogging the blankets.’ 

That makes me laugh. I send my amusement back to him. 

‘I know. I’m hilarious.’ He thinks smugly. ‘Now share the blankets.’ 

I shift a little- letting him weakly pull them off of me and cover himself. 

‘Logan and Sue are staying,’ Bobby says. ‘Dad’s upset that we’re touching. He’s leaving.’ 

‘What a wonderful gesture, Louis.’ I sigh. 

‘I know right?’ Bobby’s mind shifts to tired. 

‘Go to sleep.’ I say. ‘Both of you.’ 

‘And you?’ 

‘I have to stay up until five.’ 

‘Daken… there’s nothing to guard us from.’ Bobby says. ‘You can sleep too.’ 

I’m quiet for long moment. ‘It makes me feel better.’ I admit. 

Bobby kisses my knuckles again. ‘Do what you have to.’ he shares a feeling of comfort with me. 

I nod. 

‘But your dad is trying to figure out why you’re more alert than we are.’ Johnny thinks sleepily. ‘So you may have to deal with that when your hearing comes back.’ 

‘Noted. Go to sleep.’ 

My lovers move around as much as they can before settling in for a long sleep- hopefully. 

I catch Logan and Sue staring as I turn onto my side, watching the door. 

An hour passes and I’m about to fall out. 

The ringing in my ears has faded and I can once again hear the sounds of the hospital. 

During the hour, Sue comes over and adjusts the blankets a few times. I think it makes her feel useful. I watch her like a hawk. Logan too. 

Anytime they come near- my mind freezes in panic. I keep my eyes open and on the door. Always watch the door. Always. 

“You’re guarding.” I hear my father say quietly. I look up and he’s beside me. “You need to be sleeping.” 

I watch him cautiously.

“You can let go- kid.” He says. “Just for tonight. Just for a few hours. They’re safe.” 

I nod my head. 

“This is a sedative.” he shows me a syringe. “Fury says if we sedate one of you, all of you will probably stay out until it wears off. We really need for the three of you to get some good uninterrupted sleep.” 

I watch him even more closely. 

“Is this okay with you?” He asks. 

I keep still. 

“I’m gonna take that as a yes.” He takes the syringe to my arm and carefully injects me. 

I exhale slowly and close my eyes- letting the medication set in. 

“Let go.” he coaches. “I’ll make sure nothing happens.” 

I let the feeling of exhaustion wash over me.


	4. Breakfast- Johnny

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -paranoia  
> -mental upsets  
> -talk of poison  
> -talk of rape. non/con  
> -drugs of the medical variety  
> -mutant containment measures  
> -food  
> -food aversion  
> -talk of torture  
> -aftermath of torture
> 
> And I think that's it. 
> 
> There. All the chapters are fixed now and i've got a new one coming online tomorrow.   
> Thank you for your patience and if you wouldn't mind- please leave a comment or a kudos!

‘Mmm. Bacon.’ Daken’s ‘voice’ is the first I hear. ‘Why do I smell bacon?’ 

“They brought breakfast- I think.’ I crack my eyes open, not really looking too carefully. ‘Yea- breakfast.’ I close them again. ‘Must be morning.’ 

‘Breakfast...for all of us?’ Daken asks. 

‘Yea.’ I say. ‘I think they want us all to eat.’ 

‘I ate last time.’ he murmurs. 

‘I think there’s enough to go around.’ I say. ‘They don’t know that only one of us needs to eat.’ 

‘Orange juice?’ Bobby asks sleepily. 

‘Apple.’ I correct, looking at the collection of trays they’re sitting down beside us. 

‘Not OJ but not bad.’ Bobby says. 

I feel his hunger shifting over through his mind. 

Bobby never seems to get enough energy when we eat. Granted- we weren’t fed a lot and they were trying to see what starving one of us would do the rest of us. 

He happened to get a doctor that what a tad bit obsessive about weight. 

To be honest- I think it kinda fucked with Bobby’s head. 

‘Sugar is good for you.’ Daken thinks. ‘You can have the juice.’ 

‘There are three juices.’ I remind them. 

‘Which two are poisoned though?’ he asks. ‘Give them here- I’ll try to tell.’ 

‘I don’t think any of them are poisoned.’ I say patiently. ‘I think they honestly want us to eat individually.’ 

‘Trick.’ Bobby thinks sluggishly. 

I can feel Daken sharing his sentiment. 

I sigh. They’re too cautious. We’ve been hurt too many times. 

‘Give the trays here.’ Daken repeats. ‘I’ll try to figure out what we can and can’t eat.’ 

I let him hear my internal groan. ‘Can we just eat?’ I beg. ‘It’s been days.’ 

‘You nearly died from dehydration last time they poisoned us.’ Daken reminds me. 

‘They’re not poisoning us!’ I snap. 

I feel his hurt and try to soothe it. 

‘I’ll be careful.’ I say gently. ‘But Bobby really needs some solids. He’s gotten too thin.’ 

‘Thanks a lot.’ He says grumpily. 

‘Bobby- I’m just saying-’ 

A noise stops me. 

‘You’re just saying what?” he asks. 

I look around the lightened room and see a collection of faces. A lot of faces. 

‘We’ve got company.’ I think in a panic. ‘A LOT of company.’ 

That brings the other two to alert faster. 

Daken sits up- having to strain- but trying to better assess the threat. 

‘What do they want?’ He asks anxiously. ‘Big groups are never good.’ 

The group of people are mainly the people they said would be looking out for us- the room is big enough to hold them all. 

‘Take it easy.’ I try to take command of the situation. ‘I don’t think they mean us harm.’ 

‘They’re renting us- aren’t they?’ Bobby asks dejectedly. ‘God. Too good to be true. I knew it. I knew-’ 

‘They’re not renting us.’ I say. ‘At least… I don’t think they are. These are heroes.’ 

When they notice we’re waking up, Sue sits down in front of our mattresses, moving the tray aside. She lightly touches my face. “Hey,” She says gently. “Good morning.” 

I grant her my attention. 

‘This is going to hurt.’ Bobby winces. 

‘Go back to sleep.’ Daken says. ‘I’ll handle it.’

‘You’re not handling my sister.’ I growl. ‘She’s not going to hurt us.’ 

“Got you some breakfast.” she tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. “It’s uh… well... I couldn’t find your cereal- I hope I made good Johnny choices.” She grins. 

The other two are quiet but I feel their worry. 

“OH.” She says quickly. “It’s uh… kinda bland. The three of you had an unusually large amount of poison in your systems. I mean any level of poison is unusual but you should have been dead. It was A LOT of poison. We guess they were lacing your food?” 

I just look at her. 

‘Why does she want to know about the poison if she’s not going to poison us?” Daken asks. ‘This is a trick. They’re behind it. This whole thing is another trick. They’re making us happy just so they can rip it out from underneath us.’ 

It’s not like they haven’t done that before. 

Fuck- they’ve done it to Daken so many times that he has a hard time figuring out what’s real and what’s not. I used to hold him while he sobbed- unsure of what world he was in.

“It’s okay, Johnny.” She soothes. “You can talk to me. You know I won’t hurt you.” 

I look over at Daken who’s deceptively calm. In reality, I feel his brain turning over all the scents and sounds that he can gather. Assessing escape routes. 

‘There’s no way out.’ He says. ‘This isn’t real. It can’t be real. There’s too much happy. No one is ever this happy to see us. Trick. Come here, move closer- she’ll be back any minute.’ 

He means Dr. Olmer. 

‘She got arrested- remember?’ I gently help him back to reality. 

‘Trick.’ he’s actually got tears in his eyes. He turns his head so no one will see. 

“It’s okay.” She repeats. “We just thought you’d be hungry.” 

I am hungry. 

I know we all are. 

Bobby will be easier to get through to than Daken. 

Then again- Daken ingested the most poison. He has a weird relationship with food now. 

“We wanted to explain some stuff to you guys.” She says with a smile. “Can… everyone hear right now?” 

‘This is a trick.’ Daken continues- his mind is spiraling. ‘It’s a trick- it’s not real- none of this is real- none of this-” 

‘Baby, please.’ I beg. ‘Deep breath. Bobby- hold him for a few minutes. Get him calm.’ 

We’re all still and silent. 

I can feel all the comfort and soothing feelings moving towards Daken’s side of the link. 

I focus on his signals- slowly calming. Good. 

“Can everyone hear me?” Sue is asking. “Johnny? Can you hear me?” 

‘Yes.’ Bobby says. 

‘Yes.’ Daken echoes, quieter than he’s been all morning. 

I nod. 

“All of you?” 

I nod again. 

“Good.” She offers her hands to me- helping me sit up. I keep the blankets around my waist- I don’t want to be naked in front of all of these people. 

“So, we’re going to go over some stuff.” She says. “Simple stuff. We’re going to move you to Daken’s place. Laura and Gabby are going to stay there permanently- everyone else makes frequent visits. You’ve got a nurse- Nurse Anna- she’ll be there every day from eight thirty to six thirty. We’re going to have to run some tests-” 

‘No.’ Daken says. ‘No tests.’ 

“Nothing invasive.” She says. “Blood tests, some psych evals. Stuff like that.” 

I nod. 

“You’ve got ten people to listen to.” She says. “And you will listen to them. Got me? We’re here for your safety. Until we can figure out what’s going on- you’ll have to deal with a little supervision.” 

I nod again.

“We got some of the … paperwork from the compound- if you can call it that. You guys play different roles- right?” She says. “That’s what they were working on? This bond gives you different roles?” 

‘Don’t tell her anything.’ Daken says quickly. ‘Please Johnny- this is a trap. They’re throwing us off guard. Please- she might not even really be your sister. None of this could be real. It could all be another simulation. It could-” 

Sue touches my face- grounding me. I know it’s her. It has to be her. And even if it isn’t- I want this simulation to go on forever. “Hey,” she says. “Look at me. You don’t have to be scared. You KNOW I won’t hurt you.” 

‘Simulation.’ Daken is shaking his head. ‘Don’t fall for it. Not again.’ 

“They were experimenting on making a bond- like yours- for military use,” Sue says. “They wanted to link soldiers together so they could cut down on verbal communication that might be infiltrated or overheard. They wanted soldiers in tune with each other- right? Is that what they told you they did?” 

‘Don’t say anything.’ Daken begs. ‘Please, Johnny- she’s going to hurt us.’ 

I’m so torn. 

Sue looks so concerned. “Talk to me,” she says gently. “Come on Johnny- a single word and I’ll be happy.” 

‘You can’t.’ Daken’s mind is overloaded with panic. 

“Come on Johnny.” She pleads. “One word.” 

‘Johnny please.’ Daken begs. ‘Please.’ 

I reach over and hold his hand. 

‘Please.’ He says, eyes locking with mine. ‘There’s too many of them- I can’t keep us safe.’ 

There’s a heavyweight in my mind. It doesn’t feel like one of us. Like someone sitting beside us. Mentally. 

‘Telepath.’ Daken hisses, going quiet. ‘Trick. Please- please don’t say anything.’ 

‘Bobby?’ I probe. 

He’s passed out. 

“Say something.” Sue pleads. “Tell me you’re okay.” 

“Susan, I think that’s too much to ask of him right now.” Reed puts his hands on my sister’s shoulders. “Speak when you want to, Johnny.” He says gently. “There’s no rush.” 

‘Get out.’ Daken growls. 

I know he’s talking to the ‘intruder’. 

The intruder doesn’t think like us. It’s like they’re here- but not at the same level. They are a disturbance in our link and their presence is unwanted.

“Can you tell the telepath to get out?” I ask weakly. “They’re scaring Daken and he can’t calm down.” 

Reed looks over his shoulder. “Ms. Grey?” 

The woman I know from several of Bobby’s memories steps forward. Long red hair, bright green eyes, dressed in a pair of sweats that I know from Bobby’s memories. 

She leans down so she’s eye level with me. “Hey,” She says. “I’m… sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. I’m trying to figure out how this link works.” She looks over at Daken. “I mean you no harm.” She says. “I promise. I’m just trying to help.” She has a warm smile. 

‘Liar.’ He thinks weakly. 

Around her, the other heroes talk quietly amongst themselves. Reed and Professor X having the loudest of the quiet discussions about whether or not these bonds were a step forward for science or a slap in the face of telepaths. The argument is getting very heated. 

Towards the back of the room, I see Bobby’s parents talking very awkwardly to Ben and Kitty Pryde. 

I wish Ben would come closer. I’d feel safer with all of my team near me. 

I’ve missed my family so much. More so than I can put into words. 

“This bond-” Jean says. “How strong would you say it is, Johnny?” 

‘Really strong.’ Daken says. 

I stay quiet. 

“You can tell us,” Jean says gently. “I promise we won’t use it against you. We need to know what we’re working with so we can properly treat you without hurting you.” 

“Need to stay… close.” I say- each word pains me. 

“Close?” She nods. “How close?” 

“Very.” 

She nods again. “So for tests and checkups, you all need to be in the same room?” 

I nod. 

Jean smiles. “Thank you for your help. I swear I’ll stay out of your head unless you invite me in.” 

I nod. 

“So the bond… it has roles?” Reed asks. “Like different ‘jobs’, as it were, that each of you takes on?” 

I nod. 

“What are your different roles?” Sue asks. “They said something about you being the ‘mouth’. You’re the only one who talks?” 

I nod. 

“But you don’t talk more than you have to.” 

I nod again. 

“So the others… just don’t speak?” 

I Nod yet again. 

“But they have roles too?” 

“Yes.” 

Sue smiles. “But you’re the talker- huh? Now why doesn’t that surprise me?” 

There’s a bit of humor running through our bond. Daken found it as funny as I do. 

“So… you have different roles- only one of you talks- what about eating? You’re all really thin- Bobby being the thinnest, by like a lot- do you not eat?” 

“Their records said that only one of them was eating,” Reed says. “The other two were gaining energy from that person.” 

“They’re also really concerned about poison,” Jean says. “Like- really concerned. I don’t think Daken’s going to let them eat.” 

Sue nods. “So...Daken… takes care of you?” Sue asks. “That’s his role?” 

I nod. 

“He does a good job.” She smiles. “You’re all alive.” 

I can feel he’s at least somewhat content with that statement. 

“What does Bobby do?” 

Extra energy. His role wasn’t really defined yet. We were rescued before they could really form it. 

Daken calls him our ‘strength’. 

I feel for Bobby but he feels too exhausted to respond. 

“It’s okay,” She says sweetly, “We’ll figure it out.” She smiles warmly. “Now, you’re the mouth so you have to tell us what’s going on- alright?” She says in that ‘I’m not taking no from you’ tone of voice she uses. 

‘I don’t like this.’ Daken says, somewhat fearfully. 

Sue turns to him- even though I know she didn’t hear him. “You, sir, are going to have to let the guardians and the health professionals do their jobs.” She says. “I know you protect them- and you’ve done an awesome job- okay? You really have. They are safe. But you’ve been so busy protecting them that you haven’t really put much thought into your own safety. Our goal is to take care of all of you. And YOU,” She says to them, “Have to start by getting some rest. Good rest. A full night’s sleep of rest, in fact. ” 

‘I don’t like this.’ Daken repeats. ‘I am supposed to protect. They can’t do it like I can.’ 

“We’ve got your dad, your sisters, Reed, Ben, and I, Bobby’s parents- and some choice others. We’re going to take great care of you.” 

‘Trust her.’ I tell Daken. ‘I KNOW she won’t hurt us.’ 

“So,” She claps her hands together, “You’re going to eat, we’re going to get vitals and do checkups, and then we’re going to get you home.” She says. “Everyone good with that?” 

I don’t know why all these people had to be in here for that. 

I nod. 

“Good.” She pats my shoulder. “Eat up.” She rises to her feet, going to the collection of people. 

“If you don’t mind,” Reed says, “Please drink the juice. We’re going to need urine samples.” He stands and goes to join Sue. 

Jean hovers for a minute before excusing herself. 

‘Why are they staring?’ I ask. 

‘I feel uncomfortable.’ Daken adds. ‘What do they want?’ 

‘This isn’t safe. Something is wrong.’ Bobby says- having just woken up. 

‘Guys, calm down.’ I pull my red tray over, looking over the food. Apple, bacon, sausage, and pancakes. 

‘Don’t eat that.’ Daken says, taking his hand and pushing it away. ‘It could be poison.’ 

‘It’s not-’ 

He pushes it further away. 

‘Daken, we need to eat.’ I chide. 

‘Prepackaged things.’ he says. ‘Like-’ 

‘In the compound.’ I pinch the bridge of my nose. ‘We’re not there anymore, honey. We don't have to abide by the same rules.’ 

I can feel his doubt. 

I pull the tray back over and show him a strip of bacon. ‘Smells good?’ I ask. 

He nods. 

I take a small bite. ‘Tastes good?’ 

Only one of us needs to eat for us to get the taste. The other two can’t really get all the nutrients they need- but we were getting by somewhat with just one of us eating one meal. 

He nods again. 

‘You have your own..’ 

I look over and see that Bobby’s gone back to sleep. 

“Johnny…?” A gentle voice asks, drawing my attention to Kitty. I need to wake Bobby and tell him she’s here to see him. She’s dressed in her x-uniform. One that kinda matches Bobby’s ‘training’ one he wears when working with the kids. We’ve all gotten pretty familiar with Kitty in our year of dating. She’s good people. We like her a lot. “Hey.” She says with a warm smile. “I uh… needed to talk to Bobby- but he uh…. Doesn’t talk. So you talk for him- right?” 

I look at the sleeping man. She’s not going to get much out of him. 

I nod slightly. 

‘Daken- nudge him.’ I say. 

‘Will do.’ 

There’s some movement on the mattress as Daken goes about his task very efficiently. 

“How’s he doing?” She asks. 

I shrug. 

“Good, bad, in between?” 

I mean…. 

‘Stttttttttooooooooooppppp.’ Bobby whines. 

‘Kitty’s here to see you.’ I help him on his way to consciousness. 

He opens his eyes. ‘Kitty?’ He asks sleepily in our link. 

‘I’ll be your mouth.’ I say. ‘What do you want me to tell her?’ 

“Hey,” she says sweetly. “You’re awake! Oh man, I’m so happy to see you. You really scared us!” 

Daken and I are quiet to let Bobby have some privacy. 

“The kids have been worried too.” She says. “We went looking for you- scanned the whole city! We,” She pauses, “We really missed you, kid.” 

‘Tell her I’m sorry.’ He says quietly. 

“He says he’s sorry,” I tell her. 

“Oh no,” She says sweetly, “No no, tell him he doesn’t have to be sorry.” 

That makes me laugh. “He can hear you. You don’t need to talk through me.” 

She looks a little embarrassed. “Right. Sorry.” She looks at him. “Sorry Bobby, I’m just,” She sounds a little choked up. “I’m just happy to see you.” 

“He’s happy to see you too,” I say, knowing what he’ll tell me to say before he says it. 

“All of you really.” She says. “Thanks…” She turns to Daken. “Thank you for taking care of him. That’s what you do right- that’s what they said you did? Thanks, really. We… we all owe you one.” 

Daken actually feels a little happy. 

“And we’ve tracked down the stores that were selling those videos,” She’s rambling, messing her shoulder length brown hair. “We confiscated all the stuff they had in stock and they’re going to jail for distributing it… and I think Ben said something about suing them?” 

My mind is warm all over- joint embarrassment and shock from all three of us. 

“Oh.” She falters. “You… uh… didn’t know.” 

They… they sold them?? I knew they had them… but... They sold them??

‘Relax.’ Daken thinks quickly. ‘Breathe, Johnny.’

‘Did they sell all of them?’ I think weakly. 

“That’s enough, Sprite.” Logan walks up behind her and takes her by the shoulders. 

“I’m sorry- I didn’t mean to-” She fumbles for her words. 

“I know you didn’t,” Logan says gently. “Let’s just… give them some space.” He nods to us as he gently moves her to another part of the room. 

‘They sold them?’ My mind keeps flipping back to all the instances with cameras. All of them. Oh god, there were so many. 

Daken and Bobby both send comfort at the same time- it lulls me into another state of peace. 

‘Let’s eat.’ Daken offers. 

‘Yea?’ I think weakly. 

He stiffly raises to his knees and pulls one of the trays over. ‘Here.’ He offers me more bacon. 

‘I’m not really hungry.’ I think weakly. 

Daken puts the bacon against my lips. ‘Open.’ 

I sigh and open my mouth. 

‘Bite.’ 

It’s not that the food tastes bad- I’m just… not in the mood anymore. 

I let it sit on my tongue. 

‘Chew.’ 

I follow his instructions- as I pretty much always do when he takes over. 

‘Apple.’ Bobby holds the fruit to me. 

I take a bite, which seems to please him. 

‘Sausage.’ Daken says, bringing the next article of food to my mouth. 

Small bites. Small actions. Things I can do on autopilot. 

“Ah torch, never thought I’d see the day when you turned down bacon.” Ben’s gravely voice startles me, I wasn’t paying attention. 

I-

‘Go on.’ Daken encourages. ‘Talk to him.’ 

That’s a much different order than he was giving Sue. 

‘You need this.’ He thinks simply. ‘If it’s a simulation- I’ll deal with it.’ 

“Hi,” I say quietly. 

“Hi.” his orange rocky form looms over us. But… I feel safe. I’ve always felt safe with Ben around- even if I couldn’t admit it to him. “We’re gonna clobber those pervs for ya,” he says. “Don’t worry about it.” 

I nod. 

Oh god. 

Everyone in this room has probably seen pictures or videos. 

I feel more exposed than ever. 

“And the man who-” 

“That’s enough.” Sue interrupts quickly. “That’s enough, Ben. Good talk.” 

“I was just sayin’-” 

“Shush.” She pulls him away. 

‘Oh god.’ I think. ‘I might be sick.’ 

‘Juice.’ They say at the same time- each holding on a small container. 

Them being so in sync makes me laugh. 

The link is quiet for a second before they laugh as well. 

‘Everyone eat.’ I soothe. ‘I’ll be okay.’ 

Daken sends a feeling that is solely Daken. One of his ‘Yea right’ feelings. 

‘I will.’

The room is noisy with the hushed conversations of ten or so people. 

“Bobby, we need for you to wear this.” Bobby’s parents say, approaching him with a collar. 

‘Oh no.’ He thinks sadly. 

“Just for a little bit,” Madeline says gently. “Can you wear it for a little bit? For me?” 

He hangs his head. ‘Yes.’ He thinks. 

I can feel Daken stiffening. ‘Don’t agree to that.’ He growls. ‘They can’t strip you of your powers!’ 

“It’s just for a little while, son,” Louis says. 

‘Tell them I’ll wear it.’ 

I look over his saddened face. “He’s not wearing that,” I say instead. 

‘Johnny no!’ Bobby thinks in a panic. 

‘Johnny yes!’ Daken says triumphantly. 

“We’re talking to Bobby,” Madeline growls. 

Bobby is quiet. 

Louis takes the collar and leans forward- trying to get it around Bobby’s neck. 

Daken lashes out and slaps it from his hands- sending it across the floor. 

“Daken don’t be surly.” Madeline fusses. “I know how you feel about this-” 

They’ve talked about controlling mutant powers before. When we first started dating- I think. It was a very heated conversation. 

He puts himself between Bobby and his parents. 

“Now you’re just being difficult.” Madeline sighs. 

“He’s protecting,” Logan says, coming up behind him. 

“Well get him to stop,” Madeline growls. 

“No. I’m proud of him,” Logan chuckles. “Stripping mutants of their powers is wrong.” 

“I’m keeping Bobby from accidentally hurting someone,” Louis argues. “What’s wrong with that?” 

“Bobby’s powers are part of who he is,” Logan growls. “Blocking them off- telling him not to be a mutant- makes you a shitty parent.” 

“OH look who’s talking!” Louis snorts. 

Logan glares at him. “Keep the collar off your kid.” He says. “Daken’s not going to let you put it on him.” 

‘Damn straight he’s not.’ Daken thinks. 

‘You’re making a big deal out of nothing.’ Bobby grouses- but we can tell he doesn’t mean it. 

‘You can love your parents without rolling over for them.’ Daken shushes. ‘Let me handle this.’ 

Madeline has retrieved the collar. “Bobby- you will wear this.” She says sternly, holding it out for him. “Now put it on.” 

Bobby hesitates, clearly not wanting to take it. 

Daken slaps it out of her hands again. If I didn’t know any better- I’d say he was enjoying himself. 

“Daken- that is enough!” She snaps. 

“Don’t yell at my kid!” Logan growls. 

“Tell him to stop being a pain!” She retorts. 

“Why don’t YOU stop being a pain??” 

‘Ugh. Wearing the collar would be so much easier than this.’ 

‘You’re not wearing a collar.’ Daken says hotly. “And that’s the end of it.’ 

Bobby resigns to his fate. 

“One last time, Daken.” Louis says, “let him wear the collar or we’re… ‘ 

“Or you’re what?” Logan growls. “Holding him down? Sedating him? Forcibly removing him from the room? Oppressing him further?” 

“Do you mind???” Madeline snaps. 

I check on my lovers- making sure they’re okay with this. 

“Okay,” Sue claps her hands together. “Everybody out! Time for check-ups. We’ll let you know when they’re mobile!” 

There’s grumbling as the group disperses. 

“This is not over, young man,” Madeline says. “This is for your own good and you will agree with me one way or another.” 

‘Yea… that’s not happening.” Daken thinks sourly. 

“Mr. And Mrs. drake- that means you too,” Sue says. 

“We’re leaving, we’re leaving.” Louis puts his hands on his wife’s shoulder. “Come on honey.” 

She locks eyes with Daken. “This isn’t over.” She repeats. 

Bobby groans through our link and lays on his back. ‘She’s always so bullheaded.’ he complains. 

‘Growing up must have been tough.’ I say. 

‘Like you wouldn’t believe.’ 

“Boys?” Sue says, leaning down in front of us. “You need to finish eating.” 

I look between my lovers. ‘She’s right.’ 

“All of you,” Sue says with a raises an eyebrow before bending down and placing the two other trays- one blue and one gray- on the mattress. 

She goes to the other side of the room, chatting with the nurses. 

Daken stares forlornly at his tray. ‘Do I have to?’

‘Yup.’ 

Bobby’s already got his mouth full of apple. 

‘Bobby’s got the spirit!’ 

Daken looks at his blue tray, tentatively picking up the sausage link and sniffing it. 

‘Go on.’ I encourage. 

He takes the smallest of bites. 

I can feel his brain reacting to the taste. 

‘See- that wasn’t so hard.’ I praise. 

Bobby’s downing his pancakes- not using a fork either. More ‘compound etiquette’ as we’ve come to call it. 

‘Babe they’re not gonna take it away.’ I tease. 

Daken moves on to the apple, carefully cutting it into slices with his claws- sniffing each slice. 

Our connection feels … full. All of us eating has a good effect on it. 

Daken finishes the apple and pushes the tray away. ‘That’s all I can do.’ 

Bobby’s eaten all of us and takes Daken’s tray. ‘I’ll finish up- we need all three meals.’ 

I agree. 

Bobby and I finish up while Daken dozes off. 

I stack all three trays and put them to the right of the mattress on the floor- happy to be full. 

I feel the other’s energy levels rising- thoughts and feelings coming more freely through the link now that we’ve got some fuel. 

“Okay guys,” Our nurse from last night bends at the knees in front of us. ‘Let’s get some vitals!” 

They start on Bobby, checking his heart before prodding at his other injuries. Checking stitches, feeling for swelling- things like that... 

“Bobby Drake- patient number 3 in case X1004.” She says into a voice recorder she’s attached to her purple shirt. “Admitted with acute kidney failure, compound fractures in the skull, internal damage to the ears, eyes, and rectum. Open wounds on the hip, lower abdomen, lower back, shoulders, and hand. Right hand amputated- the wound was infected but seems to be cleaning up. Massive trauma to the liver- due to poisoning.” 

He rolls his eyes. 

‘I hate this part.’ He thinks sourly. 

‘We all hate this part.’ Daken agrees. ‘Just lay still so we can get this over with.’

“Showing signs of massive improvement. Appetite is up. Blood pressure holding steady. Pain is down indicating that kidneys are starting to function normally. No urination or bowel movements as of yet- will keep an eye on that. Heartbeat steady. Still nonvocal as of this moment, Thursday, December third, 2018. Clinically approved for transport.” She backs off her poking and prodding, stopping her recording for a second. “You’re doing great.” She says with a smile before moving to Daken. “Daken Akihiro- patient number one in case X1004,” She’s started her recorder again. “Admitted with multiple organ failures including; heart, lungs, kidneys, spleen, and pancreas. Augmented/damaged sight and hearing. Large amounts of pesticides in his stomach. Open wounds on the chest, stomach, side, legs, and arms. Blood poisoning. Infection.” She pauses. “Internal damage as well to the rectum. Showing signs of improvement. Organs starting to function properly. Able to eat small amounts. No traces of poison in blood. Infection clearing up. Hearing returning in stages. Hesitant around other people, particularly women and large men. Clinically approved for transport provided he remain under clinical observation. Still nonvocal as of Thursday, December third, 2018.” She pats his shoulder. “You’re doing great too, keep up the good work!” She gives him a thumbs up. “And finally,” She bends down in front of me. “Johnny Storm. Patient two in case X1004. Admitted with multiple organ failures including; pancreas, liver, brain, spleen, heart, and lungs. Sight and hearing functional. Open wounds to the legs and hips. Damage to the rectum- as well as blunt force trauma to the head. Wounds healing nicely, organs slowly returning to normal. Requested that he be put on a formulated diet. Blood pressure was high upon admittance as lowered to a manageable level. Bleeding of the brain has healed. Multiple surgeries to the liver, heart, and brain.” She lightly touches my head. “Responds somewhat vocally. Approved for transport provided he remain under clinical observation.”

She turns the recorder. “As you’ve heard,” She says with a grin. “You’re approved for transport. Now, let’s go over some things.” She claps her hands together. “Just because you’re at home doesn’t mean you’re out of the woods just yet.” She says. “Nothing too strenuous. We’re going to put you medication for your various organs- take them, no fuss. Eat everything you’re given, or at least try to. Johnny, you will be a special diet- so you’re food will be separate- just for a little while. It’s not going to be like this morning where you got what they got. It’s important that you watch what you’re eating. Not for your weight- you could definitely stand to gain some pounds in that department- but for your heart- okay?” 

I nod. 

“Okay.” She says. “Sleep is important! I’m putting handouts in your packets. When you’re tired- rest, okay? When it’s night time- rest! When it’s daytime and you feel like you can’t hold your eyes open- rest.” She smiles. “Got it?” 

I nod again. 

“Now Daken, you will be taking pills for sleeping.” She says. “You seem to be the one with the most problems ‘shutting down’. Johnny and Bobby are not to take your pills- they are specially formulated for mutants’ with your healing abilities. Speaking of which- your healing has picked up speed so we guess that the full thing will be returning within the next two weeks. This is going to make you tired. Rest is key to feeling better- understood?” 

Daken sighs in our bond. ‘This conversation is making me tired. Maybe I should ‘rest’ while she’s talking.’ 

Bobby laughs at that. 

“Mr. Drake.” She turns to him. “You are supposed to be kept cooler- ice baths as needed. Your temperature as a tendency to run high right now which is counter-intuitive to your powers. If it gets too high- you will suffer brain damage- again. So rest. The doctors think that you can reform your hand via powers. I think,” She looks him over sternly. “It is very much worth a shot.” 

I feel his nervousness at that statement. 

“You have ten people to lean on while you are recovering.” She says. “But should their orders contradict- the main people to listen to are the Richards, Mr. Howlett, and Professor Xavier. Everyone else is back up.” 

‘Thank god they left mom and dad off.’ Bobby sighs. 

‘Ugh, but they left Logan.’ Daken grouses. 

‘You’ll deal.’ I smile lazily. 

“Now- Reed and Sue are going to get you ready to go. Your destination is precisely… two hours away. We can put you under if you’d like- in fact, we’d prefer doing so to save you the stress of traveling right now.” 

‘I’m good with it.’ Bobby says with a yawn. 

‘I’m not.’ Daken argues. ‘How can I keep us safe if I’m sleeping? We don’t know where they’re taking us.’ 

‘Home,” I say simply. ‘They’re taking us home.’ 

I feel his unease but send a few soothing emotions to calm him. 

“We’ll take the sedative,” I whisper. 

She smiles. “I’ll go get it.” 

As she’s leaving, Sue walks back over. “You’re not going to regret taking that.” She says. “Moving is going to be very painful.” 

God. 

She smiles. “You’re doing great, Johnny. You’ve come so far.” 

There’s something in her smile- something dark around the edges. She’s… hiding something. Sue never hides anything from. I can’t help but frown. 

‘Don’t worry about it, love.’ Daken says. ‘I’ll find out everything when we wake.’ 

I know he will- too. 

I nod, watching the nurse come back over with three syringes. 

Sue takes one to help- injecting me before I can really think about it. 

The nurse does Bobby and then daken. 

I lay back and focus on the window above my head. It’s there one minute- and then… gone. Faded to black.


	5. Neko and bug hunts- Sue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger include  
> -aftermath of torture  
> -aftermath of rape  
> -talk of rape  
> -angry fathers  
> -bugs (roaches)  
> -heart to hearts over the mutant/human thing  
> Annnnd I think that's it. 
> 
> Oh also- this is one of the first chapters with everything right. I was calling bobby's dad 'William for some reason when his name is "Louis"( those names sound nothing alike- do not ask how I got it mixed up- I have no clue). So that's been fixed!
> 
> Thanks for reading!  
> This one is a little longer this time around- I guess I had more to write than I thought I did. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy!  
> If you wouldn't mind leaving a comment or a kudos or whatever- I really like to hear from y'all!

“They’re fine, Sue.” Reed holds my hand- a simple gesture we’ve done a thousand times… yet it still puts butterflies in my stomach. After all these years my ‘crush’ on him has never faded. Just blossomed into something beautiful and everlasting. There’s no one on earth I would rather be in this horrible situation with.

I look back over my shoulder to where my little brother is sleeping.

“Do you think his head is okay?” I ask fretfully. “The doctor says he gets bad migraines and I don’t want him to be in any pain.”

“He’s heavily sedated, dear,” Reed says in amusement. “Trust me, he’s not having a migraine right now. He’s sleeping very peacefully.”

I look back again- we’re in a rented van. The back holds a large gurney that they’re situated on, locked into place, rail guards up to help keep them from falling out, and ties to secure it to the sides of the van. They’re not going anywhere. Still…

“Johnny’s fine.” He assures when I don’t turn around. Johnny tosses a little in his sleep. His right-hand rests on Daken’s head- who’s on his chest (which I’ve noticed is his favorite place to be) Bobby’s off to the side, curled on his other side- away from them.

That won’t do. They need to be touching- right?

Before I can fix it, Daken barely opens his eyes and reaches over for Bobby, rolling him back over. He catches me staring and looks at me for a long moment- as if trying to assess if I’m a threat. I give him a little wave and he settles back down, relaxing between his lovers and closing his eyes.

“You can turn around, Sue,” Reed says teasingly. “I promise- I secured the gurney down several times. They’re not going anywhere.”

“Daken’s awake,” I say in concern.

“Already?” He asks- sounding like he’s in thought. “Remarkable.”

“Yea,” I say, watching him closely. He perks up at his name, raising his head again.

I see him thinking.

The boys have an eerie silence about them at all times. They’re talking internally to each other. You can see expressions on their faces- laughter, fondness, sadness, anger, annoyance- but they don’t voice anything.

Jean was our one hope at figuring out they reacted- how whatever this is was happening- but they sensed her right off the bat.

She told me in private that Johnny thought she ‘didn’t feel like them’. They can tell outside influences on their bond. Which is good to know in case we run into telepaths.

We- listen to me.

They’re not running into anything.

My baby brother and his lovers- who I guess I can think of as brother’s in law- are staying safe and tucked away. I’ve seen them go through enough. They deserve some peace.

And so help me- I will give it to them. I will make sure that they’re rested and fed and medicated for pain and managed physically- god I’ve got such a big to-do list.

“I’m sure he’ll be fine.” Reed sounds distracted when he says this. “We’re only twenty minutes away.”

I watch his face carefully and see a cringe.

“He’s in pain,” I say, feeling bad for him instantly.

“He has many serious injuries,” Reed says. “Do you think he can wait for another twenty minutes?”

I feel the hurt- lacing the air.

“I don’t think so,” I say. “I’ll crawl in the back with him- you keep going.”

“Dear-”

“Pain meds back there?” I ask.

“Yes but-”

I unbuckle my seat belt and crawl from the front of the van into small space between the back of the driver and passenger chairs and the gurney.

Daken is very alert as I settle in.

“Hey,”

He watches me wearily and I feel the pain spike.

“Hurts pretty bad- huh?” I soothe, going into the first aid box that houses all of the materials we’re using to help them.

His pain is now laced with fear. “It’s okay.” I soothe. “Really. I’m one of the good guys.”

I lean back up with the needle in hand.

The look of terror on his face is unmistakable.

“Shh…”

He covers more of Johnny and Bobby, convinced that if anyone going to be injected with anything nasty- it will be him.

I admire his commitment- even when he’s feeling like crap.

I take a swab of cotton and wet it with some rubbing alcohol.

“This will be cold,” I warn before wiping down his left arm. He does a full body flinch. “Easy,” I soothe. “It’s okay- really. You’re very safe here.”

HIs eyes tell me he feels anything but.

“Trust me.” I soothe. “I won’t hurt you.”

He’s never looked at me so… rawly before.

It’s written all over his face. The ‘leave me alone- not a threat’ look. He’s become so small.

“Mm don’t touch him,” Johnny whispers.

That shocks me- Daken waking up I could understand slightly. Johnny waking up when he’s this sedated? No way.

“...Johnny?” I ask cautiously, pausing with the needle.

Cloudy blue eyes- mirroring my own- open. “Please don’t hurt him.” He says sluggishly. “Please… please... Please.”

“I’m not,” I say quickly. “It’s pain medication. I promise not to hurt him- okay? I’ll make sure no one hurts him.”

Daken’s eyes are wide as another jolt of pain shoots through the air.

I feel it in my bones- down to my teeth. Like a vibration that’s both irritating and painful at the same time. I guess a better word would be ‘painfully irritating’.

Johnny’s head rolls to the side, on his pillow. ‘S-okay.’ he slurs. ‘S’okay baby. Shh. No threat.”

How is he awake?

I look at Daken who’s turned his head not to look at me and is instead focusing on Johnny.

Bobby stays asleep.

He’s always the most tired of the bunch- I’ve noticed. Energy just seems to drain from him.

There’s an obvious ‘conversation’ going on between Daken and Johnny.

I see Daken’s features become increasingly more distressed.

Johnny gently rubs his back, soothing him.

They weren’t very physical- none of them- before they got captured. Not in front of other people- at any rate. Daken would never let anyone see him like that. Not even the people he was close to.

Now? He leans into Johnny’s chest- getting as much contact as humanly possible.

“Just gonna give you this shot,” I say gently. “In your arm. Little needle- no big deal.”

Johnny makes a small noise of affirmation.

God, I would pay anything to hear what’s going on in their heads.

This link is so… interesting. Terrifying- in a sense, considering how it was formed- but interesting nonetheless.

I gently inject Daken- making him whip his head back to me. He’s awake and he’s alert- but he’s sluggish physically.

“Easy.” I soothe. “Easy, Daken. You’re safe. So so so safe.”

He watches me- but I can see the medication setting in.

He fights to stay propped up- but it’s a losing battle.

“See?” I say gently. “I won’t hurt you. A little bit of relief for you is a good thing. I bet you’re tired of hurting all the time.”

He nods ever so slightly, before turning on his side- keeping his back pressed to Johnny but taking Bobby into his arms.

Bobby reacts to the attention to petting his head in a sleep filled motion.

He’s still missing that hand.

Reed says if he ices up and forms a new hand- he should be able to grow it back when he turns fleshy again.

For some reason- he refuses to ice all the way up.

They can’t figure out why and Johnny isn’t giving them any answers.

Bobby pets Daken for few minutes, making a few sleep filled noises. It’s the first time I’ve heard him make any noise at all. It’s a little shocking.

Johnny seems to jerk a little- looking like he’s having some sort of nightmare.

I focus my attention on my baby brother. He needs a haircut. And a good deodorant- I can kinda smell him from here.

I brush some of the hair out of his eyes.

He makes a series of slurred noises. Almost whines- almost. He reaches out to Daken and taps his shoulders. Daken’s too far gone to respond.

“Mad because he’s not touching you?” I gather. “They should really put you in the middle- huh?”

They were numbered for whatever reason. It was Daken at number one, Johnny and number two, and Bobby at number three. For many reasons- I don’t think the numbering was meant to be something and wasn’t random in the slightest. They seem to position themselves that way too- when left to their own devices. We should really be sitting back more and watching instead of interfering. They know what they need. They know how to handle themselves. They just need some help getting healthy.

I read the reports. Their bond is something that’s…. Incredible. It would take talented telepaths years of knowing someone very personally to recreate it.

….And they did it in three months.

I’ll never forget the night they went missing. I got the call at three AM that there was a massive rash of kidnappings in the city.

It wasn’t just them- there was a slew of people abducted.

I found out they were missing after the call went out to search for the people.

I thought it was a coincidence. I prayed for it to be one.

I was wrong.

I didn’t know I was wrong until a month in- when the initial reports of the kidnappings were finalized.

All twenty people- jumped on the street and dragged into a large black van.

Same van every time- all through the night.

It was a Friday- they always had date nights on Fridays.

Not hearing from him was the worst part of it. Not knowing where he was. Hearing rumors- so many rumors. I banned the kids from watching the news.

Now they keep playing the story over and over again. Showing the pictures- oh god the pictures.

My baby brother. Used. Abused. Discarded. As if he was nothing.

Bloodied and bruised- cut open, thrown around, tied up, tortured- they showed it all.

I want to hunt the men down.

Only thing is- they were wearing masks. Only one video out of thirty had a man with a mask off. And that’s only because Johnny pulled it off. He thought it was funny to see him struggle.

He won’t think it’s so funny when I hunt him down and make him struggle.

His face is etched into my mind. His snarl of a smile. His bright white perfect teeth. His beady little eyes. Hurting him- really hurting him. For hours. Johnny was too exhausted to struggle about twenty minutes in. He took a few blows to the head and just went limp.

Reed says there’s technically another option for the ‘flight or fight’ response- they’re playing around with the term in certain circles. The third option is ‘freeze’. As in your body just goes motionless and you lock up.

Looking at that video- I can tell that’s what happened to Johnny. He was too horrified to fight back or even protect himself. He went limp to try and lessen the damage.

Johnny turns over, wrapping his arms around Daken.

“Oh, yea.” I laugh to myself. “We’ll have to keep you in the middle.” I pick up the notebook we keep for taking notes on them- Reed’s idea and it’s a good one- marking down that Johnny needs to be situated in the middle if we can help it.

I stay in the back, watching.

They sleep undisturbed- Daken has settled in after the pain meds and Johnny has gone back to sleep like he was never awake in the first place.

After about ten minutes, we pull up to a small white house and stop.

The yard is overgrown, there’s a stack of mail on the porch, a few packages that are weathered and worn, and the door is cracked open.

“House could use some cleaning.” I murmur.

Reed turns around. “We’re here.”

I nod. “How do we move them?”

“Let’s wait for Logan and Louis to arrive.”

“Oh god.” I groan. “They’re not arriving together- are they? I really think Logan’s about to put a claw through his brain.”

Reed smiles. “I’m sure he’ll show restraint for Daken’s sake.”

“I hope so.” I lean forward, positioning myself between the two front seats.

Reed turns his head and pecks me on the cheek. “You’ve done really well with all of this Sue.” He says. “I’m proud of you.”

It brings a well of guilt to my heart.

I have not done well with this.

I haven’t been able to tell him about the plot Logan and I are coming up with.

One massive sting to catch all these bastards in one place so Logan can ‘deal’ with them.

Reed wouldn’t understand. And I love that about him- I do.

But… I watched men rape my little brother. MY little brother. My usually bright and sunny cheerful little brother. I watched them snuff that light out.

That can’t go unpunished.

I can’t leave it up to the hands of strangers that be swayed to go easy on them.

They need to be dealt with swiftly, quietly, and with as much violence as they themselves used to commit their crimes.

Six adamantium blades to the jugular are less than what they deserve. But if that’s all I can give them- that’s what they’re going to get.

“Thanks,” I say, trying to sound positive.

I watch his face- not old, but not as young as it once was. I guess you could say that about both of us. Johnny looks as youthful as ever. If anything, he looks _younger_ than he did when he was abducted.

Reed’s brown hair with is signature white stripes smells like his lab. I frown. “Did you have a chemical spill on you?”

He chuckles. “No need to fret. It was a harmless one.”

“And you didn’t shower?”

He turns his head. “I didn’t have time.”

I roll my eyes. “Reed,” I say fondly.

“What? We had to be at the hospital.” He stretches his neck a small bit longer than humanly possible. “They could use another washing, speaking of showers.”

“I don’t think they’re in a big rush to get naked.” I tease. “They just got dressed two hours ago.”

He makes a noise of affirmation as we watch Logan’s blue truck pull up into the driveway, followed by Louis’s tan SUV.

“Looks like it’s showtime.” I pat his shoulder.

“It would appear so.” He unbuckles his seatbelt and opens his door closing it behind him and leaving me by myself (So to speak) when he exits.

They talk for a few moments- there’s a small argument- and then the back doors to the van open up. “Sue.” Logan greets. He’s changed since the hospital- wearing a worn brown leather jacket and some kind of cowboy looking hat.

I don’t have the time nor the energy to dissect Logan’s fashion choices so I’ll leave it at that.

“Hey, Logan.”

“Had to give the boy more pain meds?” He asks, putting a foot up on the bumper of the van and pulling himself into the back at the other end of the gurney.

I nod.

“Write it down on his chart?”

“Uh... “ I grab the ‘chart’ we keep for them and mark it down. “There. Good as new.”

He nods before starting to undo straps and brakes that are holding the gurney in place.

“That’s too big to fit through the door,” Reed says, coming up behind him.

“Are they still asleep?”

“Asleep but not sedated,” I report. “Johnny and Daken were briefly awake.”

Logan leans over and gently shakes Daken’s shoulder.

It takes a few minutes before his eyes open- confused for a second before he slips into defense mode and draws his claws. “Easy.” Logan let’s go of his shoulder. “Put those away.” He lifts him awkwardly, taking him in his arms and steadying himself before stepping down from the van. “Stretch- get Johnny.”

Reed maneuvers Johnny’s mass out of the back- keeping him near Daken and Logan.

“Louis- Bobby.” Logan orders.

The man retrieves his son quietly.

“Sue- door.”

“It’s already open,” I note.

“Go open it wider,” Logan growls.

I hurry ahead and make sure it’s pushed all the way open. The inside is cold and drafty. Great for Bobby and Johnny- who won’t be affected- horrible for Daken. I make a beeline for the thermostat and fiddle with the heat.

Through the house, I hear them getting the boys in. They make their way to Daken’s bedroom and deposit them to the mattress of his big bed.

“Clothes,” Logan says gently, pulling Daken’s off until he’s down to his boxers. The man jerks awake again but seems to be pretty compliant.

“I am not stripping him.” Louis scoffs.

“Fine. I’ll do it.” Logan starts to lift the green scrubs off of Bobby’s head.

“Wait- wait- wait,” Louis growls. “I’ll do it.”

“Suit yourself.”

Johnny is far more compliant with the removal of the clothing. He seems happy to be getting naked.

“There you go Johnny,” Reed says cheerfully.

Johnny, Daken, and Bobby rearrange themselves on their bed.

“We need more blankets,” Logan notes.

“I can do some laundry-”

“No need. I’ll have Laura pick them up some from the store.” Logan says, taking out his phone.

“What equipment is set up to take care of them?” Louis asks, kinda surly if we’re being honest.

“Right- it’s in the van,” Reed says. “I’ll go retrieve it.”

He touches my shoulder as he passes. “Look after them,” he says quietly. “Make sure Louis doesn’t do anything… stupid.”

“Gotcha.” I walk further into the room and sit on the foot of the bed.

The room smells stale and there’s a little bit of trash on the floor. I stand up and open the window to the bedroom- letting some much-needed air in.

“Are you trying to freeze him?” Louis snarls.

“Do you have no basic understanding of your kid's powerset?” Logan scoffs.

I pull the black comforter from underneath them and pull it up their bodies- it’s barely big enough to cover the three of them.

“I’m just saying- Madeline said he had the flu. Maybe opening the window in early December isn’t the best thing to do.”

“This ‘flu’ wasn’t caused by the elements,” I say, taking my seat again. “It was man-made.”

“I still don’t think letting the cold air in will do them any good.” Louis huffs.

“I think they’ll be fine,” I argue. “Neither Johnny or Bobby are affected by the cold and Daken’s under the blankets.

“Well-”

“Someone please give me a hand.” Reed comes into the room carrying several poles and wires.

I rush over and help him before he drops anything.

“Thank you, dear.” He says. “Set these IV towers up on either side of the bed.”

I do as I’m told, arranging the large metal poles and the baskets they house on them before connecting several tubes and wires.

“Hmm. We’ll need to place the third one behind the bed. The headboard as slats in it and we can weave the IV tubing through it.”

“How are we gonna-”

“I got this.” Logan interrupts, going to the foot of the bed and yanking it out from the wall by a good three feet. “Move this nightstand.” He murmurs to himself, moving a small black nightstand over to towards the door to the bathroom.

“Keep the path to the bathroom clear if you would, Logan,” Reed says, depositing bags of clear fluids into the IV towers.

“And what is that?” Louis asks.

“Morphine.” Reed hums.

“Bobby has had a lot of morphine. Is it really wise-”

“I know you’re not suggesting withholding pain meds from your kid who’s LITERALLY missing an appendage,” Logan growls.

Louis crosses his arms. “I just don’t want him to become an addict.” He says. “Addiction runs in our family and-”

Bobby lets out a loud groan, bringing all of our attention to him.

“Let’s set this IV up.” Reed quickly goes about inserting the needle into Bobby’s arm- right above where his hand would be. “Take it easy, Bobby.” He soothes. “Rest.”

His eyes flicker open before he sighs loudly.

“That’s better,” Reed says.

The boys are sleeping well so I excuse myself to go clean up the house.

It’s hard work- I use forcefields to pick up debris and trash- moving it to one big pile in the center of the living room before making large forcefield and depositing it to a large garbage bag I’ve procured from the kitchen.

The house is nice. Bigger than it looks on the outside. The hard food floors need a good mopping,however, and the walls are a little dingy.

I go search for a mop, running into several roaches in the kitchen.

Probably from where the doors been left open for three months.

I make a mental note to call an exterminator and kill the ones I run into. At least it’s just bugs and not outside animals looking for somewhere warm to live.

I’m thinking along those lines- finding the mop and filling a bucket when there’s a scratching out the back door.

Curious I open it for just a second before a large ball of black fluff rushes past me.

“A cat?” I ask in amusement.

The cat looks at me like I’m an intruder and my very presence offends her.

“Hey, kitty.” I cluck my tongue. “You don’t belong-”

She goes to a side of the kitchen with a large blue bowl sat on the floor.

“Here.”

She meows loudly at me, standing by the bowl.

Curious, I go to the pantry and see a large bag of cat food.

“Daken has a cat,” I say amusement. I don’t know why that strikes me as funny. “Your daddy’s been gone for a while, you poor thing,” I say, getting some food out with a scoop that was inside of the bag and pouring it into her bowl. Beside the blue bowl is a smaller clear bowl.

I pick it up and take it to the kitchen sinking, filling it with water.

She meows in what I’d like to think is a grateful tone before eating like she hasn’t in a few days.

“You poor thing,” I repeat. “How long has it been since someone fed you?”

She was outside and she doesn’t appear to be too boney. She probably made it out the front door and went and mooched off someone else for a while.

I go back to mopping the floor- mopping around her.

“I wonder what your name is.” I talk to her. “What would Daken name a cat?”

She looks up at with large green eyes, meowing again.

“I wish I knew what to call you.” She moves over from her bowls and rubs against my legs- purring. “Oh, you’re a sweetheart.”

She purrs louder and takes off towards the bedroom.

“Oh no- no come back!” I hiss, chasing after her.

She hits the bedroom and jumps straight on the bed.

“Neko,” Johnny says quietly- eyes still closed.

She rubs against him before moving to Daken- purring and rubbing against his face before laying on his chest.

“Neko?” I ask.

“Japnese for ‘cat’.” Logan looks at the bed. “Didn’t know he had a cat.”

“I found her outside,” I say. “She has bowls and there’s cat food in the pantry- So I’m guessing she’s his.”

She purrs loudly- positioning herself to where she’s right in his face. “Definitely looks like it.” Logan chuckles.

“That animal should not be allowed on the bed." Louis says. “She’s been outside for three months.”

“Hmm… actually- you’ve got a point.” I say. “Mrs. Neko needs a bath.”

I lean over and pick her up- causing her to meow loudly.

“I know , sweetheart.” I soothe. “You want to see daddy. But he’s sick and you need a bath before you can rub all over him.”

Neko is a big cat- she stretches out while I’m holding her.

I carry her as best I can to the bathroom- or what I hope is the bathroom.

On the inside of the big room, there are more bugs on the sink. I squash them for a forcefield and but Neko in the large tub. “Here we go.”

I turn the water on to a slight trickle.

On the tub, there’s some sort of animal shampoo. Handy. Using forcefields to form a cup, I wet Neko up and lather the soap into her fur. She’s actually behaving like she likes the bath. Which is good. Most cats don’t.

I wash her, feeling her soft fur under my fingers.

“I bet your very happy to have daddy home,” I say.

She purrs, leaning into my hand.

“I bet he’s very happy to see you.” I continue, rinsing her off one last time to get all the suds off of her.

There’s a stack of clean towels sitting on the toilet lid- guess he was doing laundry before he left for the date that night?

I pick up a gray one and start to dry her. She likes that more than the washing and purrs even louder.

“You are a vocal little thing- huh?” I ask with a smile.

She has a collar- a black one with a yellow tag that’s got Japanese characters on it. “Guess that’s your name- huh? Looks pretty.” I dry her off and set her on the floor. She wastes no time in shooting from the bathroom to the living room- where someone is opening the door.

“Don’t let the cat-”

“Neko!” I hear Gabby’s voice call. “Oh, you’re safe!”

I walk into the living room where Gabby and Laura Kinney are standing with their arms full of stuff. Laura’s dressed in a leather jacket- kind alike Logan- and Gabby’s dressed in shorts and a tank top- completely undressed for the weather.

“Laura! Gabby!” I greet happily.

Neko rubs against Gabby’s bare legs.

“Jonathan will be so happy to see you!” Gabby cries excitedly.

“Hello, Sue,” Laura says with a nod, taking the large bundle of items in her hands and sitting it down on the couch.

Gabby lets her wolverine in and closes the door behind him.

Neko immediately goes to him and rubs against him- headbutting his head.

“They’re pals,” Gabby says with a grin.

I cross my arms and lean against the wall. “I didn’t know Daken had a cat.”

“He’s had Neko since she was 6 weeks old. He found her in a dumpster.” Laura says. “She was little and half drowned.”

“Awh.”

“We came looking for her after he went missing- but she was gone,” Gabby says.

“Is that why his door was open?” I ask.

She nods. “So she could get back in if she came back!”

“Well she didn’t- but several bugs did.”

“Awh man,” Gabby says.

“We’re going to call an exterminator in a few minutes,” I say, deciding that for us.

Neko jumps onto the back of their tan sectional.

“She looks… clean.” Laura says.

“I just gave her a bath in case she had anything nasty on her.”

“Good call,” Laura says. “Neko is an inside cat. We don’t know how she got out in the first place.”

“No one's been to check on this place?” I ask.

“We’ve been focusing on finding him,” Laura says. “Admittedly, I forget to come and check on whether or not Neko ever made it back.” She leans over and pets the cats head. “Sorry, Neko.”

She purrs loudly.

“I think all is forgiven.” I laugh.

Laura smiles.

“So… where are we sleeping?” Gabby asks.

“Spare bedrooms,” Laura says. “Down the hall.”

Gabby picks up a large cloth back and totes it past me to the hallway with the bedrooms- going to the very end.

“Daken has spare beds in those rooms?” I ask.

Laura nods. “We stay over often.”

“Awh. That’s sweet.”

She smiles. “Yes, it is.”

Jonathan jumps onto the couch, curling up into a ball.

“He seems pretty at home- too,” I note.

“Daken watches him from time to time,” Laura says. “He’s actually quite good with animals. A few months ago he was talking about getting a puppy.”

“That’s cute.” I have to admit- I’m shocked.

It reminds me that I really don’t know that much about Daken.

“How is he?” She asks- more seriously.

“He’s uh- in a lot of pain,” I say. “A lot of pain. Still doesn’t speak. He doesn’t sleep normally-either. Organs are still healing- he ate a little this morning- so that’s good.”

“That is good.” She says. “I brought some foods he might find a little harder to resist.” She says. “I just need to learn how to prepare them.”

“Oh, yea? What’d you get him? Maybe I can help.”

“Hmm… several Japnese dishes. Eggs. Chicken. And tomato soup.”

“Eggs, chicken, and soup- I’m your girl.” I smile. “As far as Japanese food- I’m pretty much as stumped as you are.”

She smiles. “I’ll talk to Logan. He’ll know.”

We stand quietly for a second.

“He’s going to be okay,” I say, seeing her tension.

“Hmm?”

“Okay- he’s going to be okay,” I say. “I know what you're going through. Our brothers are very important to us. Seeing them get hurt well... Hurts.”

She nods.

“All you can do is be there for him and help him until he’s ready to do a little more for himself,” I say. “That’s all any of us can do.”

“I squashed four bugs on my dresser!” Gabby comes back into the living room- freezing. “Did I interrupt a moment?” She asks.

That makes me laugh. “No, not at all.”

“Good!” She walks over to the couch and picks Neko up. “Let’s go see Daddy!” She says, toting her off to the room.

Laura looks around. “You’ve cleaned.” She says. “Thank you.”

“Uh, there’s a lot to be done.” I say, “It’s going to take a while.”

“Admittedly leaving the door open was a bad call,” Laura says with a smirk.

I pinch my finger and my thumb together. “Maybe just a little bit.”

Down the hall we here several of the ‘men’ arguing.

“We just went through all of this to get him here-” Logan is snarling. “Why would you want to take him??”

“This place is infested with-”

“We’re handling it!”

I sigh and walk into the hall. “Logan, Louis- A moment?” I ask in a way that I know they won’t test.

Logan glares at him before walking over to me. “What’s up?”

“Louis.” I say in a very ‘mom-ish’ tone.

“Yes, ma’am.” He says, walking over behind Logan and crossing his arms.

“You two have got to quit fighting around the boys,” I say sternly. “They don’t need it right now.”

“Tell that to this jackass who doesn’t seem to comprehend why they can’t be separated!” Logan nudges him for emphasis.

“Watch it.” He growls. “I’m just saying that this place is not the best of places for them,” Louis says.

“What if we went and killed all the bugs?” I ask.

“You-”

“We can do that,” I say. “We can sniff them out, we can dispose of the bodies- we can get rid of every single one of them.”

Louis uncrosses his arms. “You can do that?” He asks.

“Yep.”

He seems to weigh it out. “I’m not an exterminator and I don’t care for roaches. I won’t help you.”

“And no one saw that coming,” Logan grumbles.

I shoot him a glare.

“That’s fine,” I say. “You can look over the boys.”

He stares me over. “Fine.”

“Good.” I motion to Laura. “Would you mind lending a hand? Or.. ya know- a nose?”

She smiles. “Not at all.”

As she walks towards us, Jonathan jumps down off the couch and fall into step behind her.

“What is that???” Louis asks.

“A wolverine,” Laura says.

“A- a- you people are insane!” he says- throwing his hands in the air.

“Superhuman household.” I pat his shoulder. “You get used to it.”

He grumbles to himself, stepping around Jonathan who in turn growls at him, making him flinch.

“He hardly ever bites,” Logan says.

“Wonderful.”

Louis stands with me for a minute.

“Want some advice?” I ask quietly.

He raises an eyebrow.

“The Wolverine clan is the most stubborn family you could ever go up against,” I say. “You are literally fighting with a man who’s almost two hundred years old. He’s not going to budge.”

“Two- two hundred?”

“Yep,” I say. “And he’s known your son since he was like sixteen. He’s fond of him. AND your son is dating his son- which pretty much makes him part of the Wolverine family.” I smile. “They take care of their own.”

He closes his eyes. “Sorry.” He says. “This is all just happening so fast and everything I know- all the normal things- don’t appear to be options.”

“Your son is an omega level mutant,” I say sweetly. “His ‘normal’ is never going to be your ‘normal’. Just love and accept him and roll with the punches.”

“I love him. I do.” Louis says. “But this mutant thing- it’s always been so much.”

“Bobby didn’t ask to be a mutant,” I say. “I know at times he would wish that he is anything BUT a mutant. But… it’s part of who he is. And these men- they are who he loves. Dearly. He doesn’t want to leave them- okay? It’s not even that it will hurt- look at him. He wants to stay with them.”

Louis nods.

“Stop fighting every step of the process and let the idea go that you know best.” I pat his shoulder. “This isn’t something in your wheelhouse- and that’s okay! This isn’t a normal everyday situation. But the others- Logan, Reed, myself, the girls- we do this for a living. All this ‘weird’ and ‘abnormal’ stuff- just isn’t that weird to us. Let us take the reigns. Just support Bobby and help him get better.”

He sighs. “You’re right.”

“I know,” I say. “I’m a mom. I’m always right.”

He chuckles.

“Just ease off a little.” I smile. “You’ll be surprised at what we can all accomplish working together.”

He nods again. “You’re right. I'm… sorry.”

“It’s no problem,” I say. “You’re doing what you think is best- as I parent, I get that. Just… what you think is best isn’t in this situation.” I look to the hallway where they’ve started the bug hunt.

I nod to him and leave him standing there, going to the hallway where Gabby is enthusiastically knocking on the walls.

“What does that do?”

“Absolutely fucking nothing,” Logan says with a grin. “She just likes doing it.”

That makes me laugh.

“Keep up the good work Gabby.”

She gives me a thumbs up before taking both hands and knocking on the wall at the same time.

“I’m going to start in the kitchen.” I excuse myself and travel through the house.

As I’m on my way, I notice Louis petting Jonathan- a little timidly, yes- but he’s got the right attitude about the ‘weird’.

And right now- the right ‘attitude about the weird’ is all we can ask for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I always pictured Daken as an animal person. Just because pheromones and animals- IDK it stuck out in my head. 
> 
> Any way, I'm 100% certain he would call them their Japanese names b/c people would be like "What a cute name" and he's all smug knowing it's literally just "Cat the cat" . 
> 
> Thanks for reading!


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